Commitments to Action

Early Childhood Policy Certificate

The early care and education field is at a critical juncture. Better understanding of early brain development, new research on the effectiveness of early intervention, and increasing numbers of working parents during a child's earliest years all urgently suggest a need for public policies that support children's early development. Leaders with expertise in both areas are necessary to capitalize on the growing interest in early care and education.

The goal of the Early Childhood Policy Certificate is to develop an individual's capacity to apply research-informed knowledge of early development to federal and state policy affecting children from conception to age eight. The Certificate experience draws on a variety of disciplines including child development, parent education, economics, educational psychology, public health, public policy and social work to provide a well-rounded view of the variety of issues facing young children and their families today. In addition, the Certificate provides an interdisciplinary forum for individuals with a common interest in early childhood policy issues to come together to learn about and advocate on behalf of young children.

The certificate is under construction and is anticipated to accept students for Fall 2004. For more information contact Karen Cadigan.

Center Of Excellence: Children’s Mental Health

This cross-disciplinary center, led by the U of M in partnership with key community leaders and organizations, will work to promote emotional health and well-being among Minnesota children, prevent mental health problems that are preventable, and support optimal adaptation, learning and development among children with mental health problems or disorders. The center will link research, practice and policy in children’s mental health; identify and disseminate best practices in prevention, intervention and treatment; and develop and evaluate demonstration projects that engage all sectors of society in supporting the mental health of children from birth to adulthood.

The idea for this Center of Excellence originated with the Hennepin County Leadership Action Group (LAG) convened by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners as part of their Children’s Mental Health Initiative, with Marti Erickson and Joan Sykora of the University’s Children, Youth & Family Consortium serving as liaisons between the University and the county. That initiative has promoted better coordination of children’s mental health services and has launched several school-based pilot projects aimed at preventing mental health problems among primary-grade children identified by their teachers as high-risk.

A cross-departmental group of U of M faculty, “Mental Health Faculty Partners” (convened by the Children, Youth and Family Consortium), will serve as the nexus for planning the Center of Excellence. That faculty group has worked together effectively over the past two years to develop policy briefing papers on mental health across the life span, to consult with the Hennepin County initiative, and, in general, to encourage University-community partnerships addressing mental health issues.

The creation of a Center of Excellence in Children’s Mental Health is especially timely because of its convergence with other community initiatives in which the U of M (through CYFC) already is involved. In particular, the Healthy Learners Board (chaired by MPS Superintendent Carol Johnson) brings together leaders of all major health care organizations to address pressing health needs of Minneapolis Public School Children. Building on successful efforts to 1) increase student immunization rates and 2) improve health and learning among children with asthma, the HLB now is launching a new initiative to improve the mental health of Minneapolis school children. Also, Fred LaFleur of Hennepin County Department of Corrections, recently requested CYFC’s assistance with a project to address the mental health needs of juvenile offenders. And CYFC and the Harris Center work with a wide range of community partners to disseminate best practices and build the capacity of professionals and parents to support the healthy social-emotional development of infants and young children in high-risk circumstances.

To put this work in a broader context, two major Federal reports have called strongly for this kind of broad-based approach to children’s mental health: The Surgeon General’s Report on Children’s Mental Health issued by Dr. David Satcher during the second term of the Clinton presidency; and a forthcoming report from the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, a major component of President Bush’s “New Freedom Initiatives.” In light of current Federal and State cuts in services for children and families – and the inadequate and disorganized approach to children’s mental health among insurers and health care providers -- the need for cross-sector, public-private partnerships is especially critical in order to address the social and emotional difficulties that compromise so many children’s learning and development. Contact the Children, Youth and Family Consortium for more information.

Business Leadership Team: Starting Strong

President Bruininks, as leader of a major research university with extensive resources on CYF issues -- and as CEO of one of the Twin Cities’ largest employers -- is convening a team of CEO’s from Minnesota companies to lead an intensive effort to focus energy and resources on ensuring that Minnesota children have the strong starts they need and deserve. The work may involve a variety of activities, such as: making the business case for why investing in young children is good for society and good for business; engaging employees in community service to young children and families; identifying and implementing best practices in corporate work/life policies, especially (but not only) for families with young children; leading a cultural shift from what some people call our “live to work” mentality, which leads to an imbalance that ultimately undermines both family and the quality of work.

UConnects

Research demonstrates that a caring mentor can make an indelibly strong impression in the life of a child. Children need to establish ongoing connections with caring adults in order to mature into loving and responsible adults. Sadly, not all youth are able to form strong relationships with adults--for many, there are simply too few available adults in their lives. The most recent census shows that 32% of Ramsey County’s households with children and 27% of Hennepin County’s households with children are headed by a single parent (12) . Rising child to teacher ratios in schools and diminished confidence in the safety of neighborhoods also limit opportunities for youth to form caring relationships with adults. Volunteer mentoring can help to fill the gap left by the decreasing availability of natural mentoring.

UConnects, a new University-community partnership, was created to encourage and enhance the effectiveness of volunteer mentoring relationships through:

• Working with established mentoring organizations to strengthen relationships between students and their mentors;
• Making the University’s vast cultural, educational, and other events accessible to disadvantaged children and their mentors; and
• Fostering aspirations towards higher education in K-12 students who may have few or no family or community role models in higher education.

UConnects seeks to connect community youth with the University by providing tickets and access to University educational programs, cultural activities, and athletic events. The target audience is students enrolled in formal mentorship programs. The mentors will not only accompany the youths to the University events, but it is hoped that they will prepare the students for their visits and help them to process and interpret their experiences afterward. Through UConnects, the University hopes to play an important role in the lives of youth currently offered the fewest educational and cultural experiences.

Although the University makes many cultural, educational, and entertainment opportunities available to Minnesotans, too many young people, and particularly young people from the state’s diverse communities, are left out. The goal is to not only offer participants valuable, thought provoking experiences today, but also to spark their curiosity, foster a lifelong appreciation for culture and learning, and encourage them to identify higher education as an option in their lives.

Dr. Sallye McKee, Associate Vice Provost for Multicultural and Academic Affairs, chairs the committee planning UConnects. The committee is consulting with two advisory groups, one comprised of mentoring organizations and the other comprised of participants and their mentors. Once UConnects is fully active, it will be an ongoing program run by the Office of Multicultural and Academic Affairs. Contact UConnects for more information.

Building Regional Leadership in Southwestern Minnesota

The University of Minnesota's Southwest Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton is serving as a hub for aligning work in the region with statewide action efforts on early childhood and family issues. Along with Extension educators and other area leaders, a pre-Summit dinner discussion at the Center in Lamberton was held and leaders gathered to watch and discuss the web-cast of the Summit. By creating a collaboration of higher education institutions in southwest Minnesota, leaders are seeking funding for an Electronic Learning Commons to build capacity in the region by providing education, networking and support to cohort learning groups. These cohort learning groups will come together over an extended period of time, 18 to 24 months, to partake in comprehensive and in-depth learning experiences involving both skill development and subject content. The Commons will facilitate civic engagement efforts around early childhood issues, and help parents, professionals and leaders come together to identify and address community needs.