University of Minnesota
Minnesota Children’s Summit 2005
Smart Policies, Strong Families

March 28, 2005
Coffman Memorial Union

To engage both University and community leaders from throughout Minnesota in sustained partnerships for the benefit of Minnesota children, youth and families, President Bruininks is convening a series of Children’s Summits. Throughout the Summit series attention is paid to the first two decades of life and how children at every developmental stage need to start strong and stay strong as they transition from birth to early childhood, through the many transitions within the school years, and on into later adolescence and adulthood. The integral role of neighborhoods and communities that support and sustain children, youth and families is also recognized throughout the Summit series. Families are vital to the well-being of their members, including children, adolescents, adults, and elders, and so are the communities, institutions, and public life that sustain them. While children develop within the context of families, adults also function within the context of families, both families of origin and those they create in adulthood. This Summit focuses attention on the diverse functions of families –family creation, economic support, childrearing, and family caregiving - and the implications policy decisions have on family functioning.

Smart policies enable strong families.
The third Summit, Smart Policices, Strong Families, held March 28, 2005, emphasized the relation between family functioning and policy. How do decisions made at all levels - from the legislature to the workplace, from the church to the community center - impact diverse families and their ability to support and sustain their members? University and community leaders throughout Minnesota came together to share models of understanding the family and to learn skills necessary for effective action to strengthen families.

The second Summit, Staying Strong Through Challenge and Change, held June 4, 2004, focused on issues related to middle childhood. Middle childhood and the transition to adolescence was a timely focus for the Summit. Current research has increasingly found that the elementary and middle childhood years (ages 5-13) play a distinct role in child development, and appropriate interventions during middle childhood are demonstrating good outcomes in later adolescence.

The first Summit, Starting Strong, was held on May 30, 2003 and emphasized the early foundations of healthy development and learning – and the programs, policies, practices and conditions that enable children and their families to thrive and succeed.

The Summit series is part of the President's Initiative on Children, Youth and Families which is dedicated to increasing public engagement on the pressing issues facing children, youth and families.

Minnesota Children’s Summit 2005 took place on Monday, March 28, 2005 at Coffman Memorial Union on the Twin Cities campus. Summit organizers streamed the video and audio of the Summit live via the web as well as made a broadcast to University of Minnesota coordinate campuses in Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester and the UM Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton.