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NATIONAL 1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 320 INCORPORATED SPECIAL NASOSE ASSOCIATION SIMIT or Alexandria, VA 22314 Tel: 703/519-3800 SPNET: NASDSE FAX:703/519-3808 10 National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc. Luzanne Pierce Technical Assistance Specialist with Edil Edition. ion. SEAD THE enon OKA the Carlin Michael X & Shelley d et @ Fosset the & The which and RUSS 300 with 71 Clinton Presidential Records Digital Records Marker This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff. This marker identifies the place of a publication. Publications have not been scanned in their entirety for the purpose of digitization. To see the full publication please search online or visit the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Hi Jen - I thought the enclosed might be help ful for you up coming child Care conference Please call when wants me to get in the you can. Susan liss loop on the planning for the conference if that's possible Best - Carrie wofford 219-6611 I WORKING FOR AMERICA'S WORKFORCE Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues 0-3 Child Care Hearing July 10, 1997 9:15 a.m. 1302 Longworth Panel I Dr. Peter S. Jensen Chief, Child & Adolescent Disorder Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Dr. Edward Zigler Sterling Professor of Psychology, Yale University Director, Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy Panel II Helen Blank Director of Child Care and Development, Children's Defense Fund Helen Taylor Associate Commissioner, Head Start Stephanie D. Fanjul Director, North Carolina Division of Child Development Ted Childs Vice President of Workforce Diversity, IBM Panel III Dr. Marsha Weinraub Principal Investigator, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Kevin Doyle Parent Pam Humphry Director, Marriott Child Care Center Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues 0-3 Child Care Hearing July 10, 1997 9:15 a.m. 1302 Longworth SUMMARY OF PANELS Panel I: Current evidence of early brain development. This panel will focus on recent research showing the effect external stimuli have on 0- 3 brain development and new and important findings on why 0-3 are critical years for nurturing a child's capacity for learning. Dr. Peter S. Jensen, Chief of the Child & Adolescent Disorder Research Branch, Division of Clinical & Treatment Research at the National Institute of Mental Health, has authored over 100 scientific articles and books and edited two books on children's mental health research. Dr. Edward Zigler is currently Sterling Professor of Psychology at Yale University and Director of the Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy. He has studied the growth and development of children for over 40 years and is the author of 28 books and over 500 scholarly articles. Panel II: Federal, state, and private initiatives in 0-3 child care. This panel will examine innovative proposals to expanding quality child care. Panelists will discuss regulated versus unregulated child care, state and federal initiatives, and private industry's accommodations for workers with 0-3 child care needs. Helen Blank, Director of Child Care and Development at the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), works to increase support for positive early care and education for children. She has played a strong role in the promotion and implementation of federal child care legislation and has authored major studies that have been sources of reference for state child care policies. She will give an overview of child care initiatives nationwide. Helen Taylor, Associate Commissioner of Head Start, will testify on Early Head Start, a program established in the 1994 Head Start Reauthorization with broad bipartisan support to extend Head Start from preschoolers down to babies, toddlers, and their families. The purpose of the project is to enhance children's cognitive, social, emotional and physical development, assist parents in fulfilling their parental roles and help parents move toward self-sufficiency. Stephanie D. Fanjul is currently Director of the North Carolina Division of Child Development which oversees both Smart Start and Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (TEACH). North Carolina's Smart Start and TEACH are nationally recognized state- wide programs that are considered among the best early childhood initiatives in the country. Ted Childs is currently IBM's Vice President of Workforce Diversity and maintains worldwide responsibility for the implementation of model workforce diversity programs within the company. He is a firm believer in family-friendly policies and exerts his influence as a member of numerous prestigious councils, such as the American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care. IBM has been cited by Time, Newsweek and Working Mother magazines as having one of the best child care options for its employees. Panel III: Issues of quality and accessibility. This panel will provide a first-hand account of the dilemmas faced by parents who need 0-3 child care but are unable to find safe and adequate child care for their infants. A specialist in providing child care will testify about the problems in providing quality care given the low pay and low standards for child caregivers. Survey results will be provided to show how the child care crisis is prevalent across the country. Dr. Marsha Weinraub will discuss the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care, of which she is the Principle Investigator. This large-scale, comprehensive study examines the effects of child care, particularly infant care, on the development of children in the United States. Parents and child care providers will also testify about their first-hand experience with infant care. 2 ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON COMMITTEE ON DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND SUBCOMMITTEE INFRASTRUCTURE RANKING MINORITY MEMBER, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SUBCOMMITTEES SURFACE TRANSPORTATION CIVIL SERVICE Congress of the United States PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND CO-CHAIR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT House of Representatives CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS WOMEN'S ISSUES Washington, D.C. 20515 Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton at the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues Hearing on 0-3 Child Development and Implications for Child Care July 10, 1997 As Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, I am pleased to share the chairmanship of this first-ever Women's Caucus hearing with my distinguished colleague, Congresswoman Nancy Johnson. We have an unusually exciting topic: 0-3 child development and the implications for early stimulation for parents and for child care. The biological science and the social science are so dramatic and so new that infant brain development has seized the attention of the country feminists and traditionalists alike, but most of all, families of every variety and scientists throughout the country. I want especially to thank Congresswomen Ellen Tauscher and Deborah Pryce, the Team Leaders of the Women's Caucus legislative team on Educational Child Care and School Readiness, for their work on this issue. We hope legislation reflecting our concern for children in these critical years will come from this ground breaking hearing. Our panels are experts on the cutting edge of this new knowledge. They will examine the latest evidence demonstrating the importance of the first three years of a child's life; innovative federal, state and private initiatives that address the child care crisis; and the quality and accessibility of child care. Scientific research reveals extraordinary new information that early stimulation in a child's environment can determine the brain functions of a child. Parents of every income group are now aware of just how critical the 0-3 years are for children. We now know that children who do not meet certain cognitive, linguistic, emotional or motor goals within the first three years may never completely develop these critical life skills. Now, more than ever, affordable quality child care is imperative for the well-being of our children. The 1993 Census revealed that the average family consisting of an employed mother and children under age five spent $79 per week, more than $4000 per year, for child care. Yet only the poorest of families qualify for the federal Head Start program. Today, the Women's Caucus confronts the question of whether we as a society, as parents, as caregivers, and as a Congress are doing enough to provide the quality child care and early childhood education necessary for children to thrive. Thank you all for joining us for what promises to be an enlightening and informative hearing. 815 15TH STREET, N.W., SUITE 100 1424 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 2041 MARTIN L. KING AVENUE, S.E. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-2201 WASHINGTON D.C. 20515-5101 SUITE 300 (202) 783-5065 (202) 225-8050 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20020-5734 (202) 783-5211 (FAX) (202) 225-3002 (FAX) (202) 678-8900 (202) 225-7829 (TDD) (202) 678-8844 (FAX) Recycled Paper " U.S. Rosa DeLauro REPRESENTATIVE NEWS RELEASE 436 Cannon Washington, DC 20515 202/225-366 EMBARGOED UNTIL: Contact: Stacy Beck Thursday, April 17, 1997 (202) 225-3661 DELAURO INTRODUCES EARLY LEARNING AND OPPORTUNITY ACT Ground-Breaking Brain Research Spurs Public Policy Changes WASHINGTON Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Ct) introduced comprehensive legislation to help America's children get a good start in life, particularly in the critical early years from birth to age three. DeLauro's announcement comes at a time when the nation is increasingly focused on the importance of development during a child's first three years. The President and Mrs. Clinton are hosting a White House Conference on Early Childhood Development and Learning, which DeLauro is scheduled to attend. This past Monday, DeLauro brought together scholars and educators at Yale University in her district for a forum on new research about how the brain develops. The forum examined the implications of this research for early childhood development and education. "The exciting research going on at Yale and other facilities around the nation has proven what parents and grandparents have long suspected - - that the first few years of life are a critical time for intellectual, emotional, and social development. We know that unhealthy development contributes to school failure, teenage pregnancy, and juvenile delinquency later in life. My bill would give parents the tools they need to make the most of these critical years,' said DeLauro. Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) joined DeLauro as an original co-sponsor of the legislation. The DeLauro-Hoyer-McGoverr bill would improve the quality and availability of care for children under the age of three, and improve the coordination and effectiveness of family support services to parents with children in that age group. "This bill provides necessary fuel to innovate and streamline programs and services for children under three. There is mounting evidence that there is no greater return on an (more) DeLauro Release Page Two April 17, 1997 investment that the resources devoted to our nation's youngest children. The bill also helps focus the nation on the incredibly vital issues of early childhood development. As we enter the 21st century, we must increase our commitment to enhancing and improving the education and general care of our nation's children. By investing wisely today, we will reap huge return down the road, said Hoyer. "If we neglect the developmental and educational needs of young children, we are turning our backs on our future, stated McGovern. "Increasing investment in Head Start, expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act, and improving the quality and availability of child care and family support services will help ensure that young children are healthy, and that they mature to their fullest potential." The DeLauro-Hoyer-McGovern legislation will address these problems in three crucial ways. It will: Create a flexible competitive state grant to: - improve the quality and availability of care for children under the age of three; - improve the quality and availability of support services to families with children aged zero to three; encourage states to improve coordination of existing services to these families to reduce duplication and improve their efficiency. Amend the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover companies with more than 20 employees. This will extend parental leave privileges to 15 million additional working women and men. Increase funding for Head Start and, over four years, more than double funds available for the Early Start program which provides education, health, nutrition and parent support services to children aged zero to three. "Scientific research shows that how individuals function from preschool through adolescence. and adulthood hinges to a significant extent on the experiences children have in their first three years, stated DeLauro. "I want to make sure that all of America's children are given the care they need in their first years of life to prepare them to grow up to be healthy, productive and responsible members of society." -30- Early Learning and Opportunity Act DeLauro, Hoyer and McGovern In 1993, the National Educational Goals Panel reported that nearly half of American infants do not have what they need to grow and thrive. Purpose - to improve the quality of care for children under age 3 - to improve the availability of care for such children - to improve the quality of family support services for parents - to improve the availability of family support services - to improve the coordination and effectiveness of existing programs serving families with children under age 3 TITLE I: EARLY LEARNING AND OPPORTUNITY GRANTS - competitive, flexible grant to states to improve quality and availability of care for children under the age of three; to improve quality and availability of family support services for the parents of such children; and to improve coordination of existing programs and services - funded at $360 million/yr for five years - repeal of the "runaway plant" loophole to recover $1.8 billion in tax revenue shall be used to pay for this title. - State and private/not for profit sector will provide at least a 30% match (may be cash or in-kind) of federal funds - Priority under this competition will be given to states which have taken substantial legislative or executive measures to reduce program overlap, duplication, or barriers to coordination among the services to families with very young children which are under state jurisdiction. TITLE II: FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT AMENDMENT - amend the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover companies with greater than 20 employees to cover 15 million additional women and men TITLE III: HEAD START AMENDMENT - authorize $600 million per year increase for Head Start - gradually increase the set-aside for 0 - 3 Early Start program from 5% in 1998 to 9% by 2002 Early Learning and Opportunity Act STATUS OF AMERICAN INFANTS AND TODDLERS FACT SHEET Poor developmental outcomes early in life have been shown to be significant risk factors for academic failure, teen pregnancy, and juvenile delinquency later in life. In 1993, the National Educational Goals Panel reported that nearly half of infants in the United States do not have what they need to grow and thrive. According to the Carnegie Foundation "Turning Points" report, most parents today have few choices for infant and toddler care. Even middle class parents cannot afford to stay at home with their children, and yet cannot afford high quality child care which will promote normal development. Fewer than half of America's working women are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides a 12-week, unpaid leave to parents of companies which employ more than 50 employees. The United States is the only industrialized country in the world which does not provide paid maternity leave. Thirty developing countries provide paid maternity leave. More than half of mothers with babies under one year of age are working outside the home. More than 5 million American children under age 3 are in the care of other adults while their parents work outside the home. Studies of care for very young children shows that less than 20 percent of such care is of good quality. 0 One multistate study showed that 40 percent of child care for babies was so poor that it adversely affected the babies' development and threatened their health and safety. One in three victims of physical abuse is a baby less than one year of age. Families with children under age 3 are the single largest group living in poverty. Three million children - 25% of all children under age 3 --are living below the poverty line, at greater risk for malnutrition, poor health, and maltreatment, and are less likely to receive the care they need from parents or other child care providers to grow and develop normally. THE BOSTON GLOBE TUESDAY, APRIL 22. 1997 An early-childhood education for Washington student named Bill Clinton. ist whining starts, it helps to remember that expanded by more than 40 percent, a: THOMAS OLIPHANT Well before last week's conference, De- this is the only industrialized country in the nearly 2 million more people now bene Lauro was working to spread the word world without a paid maternity leave law, from the literally life-saving Women, i about the latest research. But she has also WASHINGTON which some 30 developing countries have as fants, and Children program of nutrition fashioned the first legislative proposal to well. e know what works," Hilla- and education. 'W ry Rodham Clinton was take full advantage of its momentous impli- Finally, the DeLauro proposal would sig- Not enough laurels to rest on. however saying the other day. "We cations for those young, struggling families nificantly expand Head Start and the fledg- Last week's bully pulpit work - it went have to intervene with on which it can have the most impact. ling Early Start program for infants and to more than 100 sites via satellite in The last presidential election at least set- overstressed parents, but we don't have any toddlers. Head Start, aimed at preschoolers states - was significant. And the inform tled the argument that it takes a village. But from needy families but still shamefully systematic way to do it." tion, above all its magnificent simplicity. C science shows that it also takes DeLauro's reaching less than half the 4-year-olds eligi- help millions of parents without anoth True on the first point. True on the sec- Early Learning and Opportunity Act. ble, would get $600 million more a year until dime of government money. ond. But not entirely true on Mrs. Clinton's For the drop-in-the-bucket sum of $1.8 it reached $6.7 billion five years hence. However, one-fourth of the kids und third point about early-childhood develop- billion over the next five years, states could And Early Start - which combines learn- age 3 live in poverty, more than half 1 ment - the next frontier in education, freshly get a powerful boost to vastly improve and ing, health, nutrition, and parent education mothers of kids under age 1 work. 5 mill: fertilized with breakthrough science on the focus their efforts to help kids under the age for science's newest focus group - would get kids under 3 are cared for by others wt first three years of life. There is a way; of 3 and parents with information, better day a rising percentage of the Head Start au- their parents work, and welfare refo what's at issue is will. care, and more family-friendly values. thorization - reaching 9 percent, or $600 mil- alone will increase these populations cons At last week's stunning White House To pay for the core of her proposal, De- lion, in 2002, a doubling of the money and a erably in coming years. gathering to give broader dissemination to Lauro suggests closing just one of the scores major expansion in service to nearly 50,000 For a baby facing tall hurdles. long-te the increasingly voluminous body of re- of loopholes that subsidize the comfortable kids. Every one of those dollars spent, as a policy goals are not particularly helpful. search showing how much of the brain's all- who have good lobbyists - in this case the report for the conference from the Presi- Mrs. Clinton herself noted, quoting a C important wiring develops in the first few tax loophole that encourages the closing of dent's Council of Economic Advisers made lean poet, "To him, we cannot say tomorr years after birth, there were two critical plants and the moving of jobs. clear, will eventually earn even more dollars his name is today. We have known ithis words missing: Rosa DeLauro. The bill would also take a big step in from more productive citizens and avoid still stinctively, even poetically; now we know The Connecticut congresswoman, a pa- mandating territory by dropping to 20 work- more dollars spent to deal with wrecked scientifically." tron saint to working families of modest ers from the current 50 the employer-size lives. But she should have added that thank: means, is blessed by the presence in her exemption in the Family and Medical Leave In scandal-crazed, balanced-budget-fixat- Rosa DeLauro there is a systematic, dec state of the world-renowned Child Study Act. All this would do is extend vital, en- ed Washington, the extent of the progress tralized way to act on this knowledge. Center at Yale, where Hillary Rodham hung abling rights to 13 million more working already made in recent years is unappreciat- out 26 years ago when she met a fellow law women. Before the chorus of business lobby- ed. Since 1992, for example, Head Start has Thomas Oliphant is (1 Globe columnist. THE Experts Describe New Research on Early Learning White House Panel Stresses Importance of First 3 Years By Barbara Vobejda Washington Post Staff Wnter A panel of experts at a White House conference yesterday described compelling new research show- ing that a child's language, thinking and emotional health are largely formed before age 3 and argued that the nation needs to intervene earlier if the lives of many disadvantaged young children are to be turned around. In an unusual conference convening scientists and The first lady holds up report on child rearing as President Clinton looks on at White House sym child development specialists from around the coun- cate circuitry of the brain is wired," according to Washington and a member of the panel. 521 try. panelists called for high-quality day care, parent- "Rethinking the Brain." a report by the Families and portance of early brain development in S. ing education and expanded health coverage for chil- Work Institute issued in connection with yesterday's foundations for language is apparent in bab dren, much of which is supported by President conference. ger than 6 months. Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Not only are most brain synapses-connections At birth. she said, a child can distinculs "We know what works," said Hillary Clinton, who between brain cells-formed before age 3, the re- the various sounds of all languages. hosted the all-day affair. "We have to intervene with port said, "those synapses that have been activated "This is quite a feat." she said "But overstressed parents. But we don't have any sys- many times by virtue of repeated early experience change to culture-bound specialists tematic way to do it." tend to become permanent; the symapses that are learning one language. The conference, carried by satellite to nearly 100 not used tend to become eliminated." She described research showing that sites across the country. was meant to highlight a In effect, the research suggests that a child's babies who at 6 months could distinguish growing body of research that points to a period of brain structure is still forming after birth, and that the sounds of "R" and "L" no longer hear rapid brain development in children from birth to age the language they hear, the toys they play with. even tinction at 12 months. These growing be: 3. Until a few years ago, infants were commonly the images they see combine to affect the brain's in ignore the distinctions not necessary viewed as passive creatures largely unaware and un- long-term development. language. she said. affected by their surroundings. But new research methods. including brain scans, have allowed scien- Panelists urged the adoption of several programs Other studies have shown that. by 201 to help young children, including those that would babies have learned that language tists to study the effect of a child's environment on brain development in the first years of life. emphasize higher wages and better training for day prise." When an adult begins speaking in the care workers, better parenting education, better in a minute. the baby will begin to 000 re "The impact of the environment is dramatic and specific. not merely influencing the general direction training for pediatricians to help parents, more pre- Kuhl and others emphasized the impor natal care and expanded health coverage. parents and care-givers talking to of development, but actually affecting how the intri- Clinton, in opening the conference. cited his sup- "When we speak." she port for Head Start programs for younger children development. Infants are born to learn. Our and an expanded Family and Medical Leave Act. He be good developers." also enlisted the Department of Defense, whose day- Babies are drawn to "parent-es- care centers have been cited as models; to enter voice and vocabulary parents often use with partnerships that would help improve the quality of fants, and will choose to pay attention to private-sector child-care centers. guage rather than adult conversation. Celebrated pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton said That may be because it has "meaning." n: that 40 percent of the nation's children are not get- and attentiveness, she said. And for that ting effective preventive health care and called for child is not likel: to learn language a the > universal coverage for children and pregnant won- from exposure to a radio or television. cil. Hillary Clinton said some her best In calling for policy changes, Brazelton and others were of reading to Chelsen as .1 yound child emphasized that these unitiatives must reach chii- "Reading to her when she was dren at the earliest stages, while they are still recept Bill and me." she said. "Be: we had five to learning. Carla Shatz, professor of neurobiole- 17 years ago that what the Univer SIV of California at Berkelev, said turning on the priver i: the use It or lose it" phenomenon in brain develop- nections that would ment has been confirmed by studies of children who high a level as the suffered from cataracts. Even when the cataracts the Juldren FOR MORE INFORMATION 0 were blind-unhse the New Haven Register, Sunday, April 6, 1997 Page B3 Preschool opens window of opportunity for young children XCITING new scientific cational gains. Years later, chil- E fees to enroll their own offspring discoveries about brain de- dren who participated in the pre- Nationwide, 76 percent of the chil- velopment underscore the school programs were less likely dren in families with income over importance of the early years of than their peers to repeat a grade or $50,000 are in preschool or center childhood. We now know that vast use special education services. based child care, while fewer than networks of nerve cells are created Two states that already offer half the children from working- with astonishing speed in a young public-funded preschool to all low- class or poor families have any child's brain. income 4-year-olds, Washington early education experience. When stimulated by sensory ex- EDWARD ZIGLER and Kentucky, have conducted These figures raise the question perience, these neurons form con- JULIA DOWNS regular evaluations of their pro- of equity: Should young children nections that support the complex grams and have found positive cd- bc denied a valuable educational development of language skills. ucational outcomes. Children in opportunity just because their fam- motor and visual coordination, and the state, regardless of income. Washington showed dramatic im- ilies can't afford it at a time when even emotional patterns. Unused Two legislative leaders from New provements in language skills, the nation's No. 1 educational goal neurons, however. are pruned Haven are players in this effort: conceptual abilities and motor is to make sure all children enter away forever when the time-limit- Rep. Cameron Staples, D-96, co- abilities. The Kentucky partici- school ready to learn? cd "window of opportunity" for chairman of the Education Com- pants excelled beyond their peers mittee, will play a decisive role in A publicly funded preschool outside influence on brain growth in expressive communication, so- program in Connecticut would closes at about age 8 to 10. assuring that the state's program cial skills and familiarity with The implications for educa- will be of high quality; and Rep. books. Here in Connecticut, chil- help redress the serious inequal- tional achievement are obvious. Bill Dyson, D-94, chairman of the dren in Bridgeport who entered ities in education received by ra- Children with richer, more stimu- Appropriations Committee, will be kindergarten with some preschool cially segregated poor children in lating early childhood experiences the one to make sure the plan is experience scored significantly Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and smaller cities. and. thus, more highly devel- ultimately, and adequately, funded. higher on the fourth-grade mastery oped brains - will bc better pre- An investment in preschool will test than their socioeconomic peers The best plan would be univer- pared to learn in school. And we be money well spent. Just a year who had no preschool. according sal preschool open to all children all have a stake in education: Chil- ago, the Packard Foundation pub- to a report published by the Graus- regardless of family income. It dren who do well in school are lished a comprehensive review of tein Memorial Fund. should begin at age 3 and offer more likely to become productive decades of excellent research on There is no shortage of evi- extended hours matching the type- members of society. the long-term outcomes of early dence that preschool education is cal workday of parents. The addi- Fortunately, the General As- childhood programs. The Packard beneficial to children. tional "child care hours" could be sembly is moving on a plan to report finds overwhelming cvi- Middle-class parents have long financed through parent fees as- make a good carly education avail- dence that large public programs, recognized the value of nursery sessed on a sliding scale adjusted able to every 3- and 4-year-old in including Head Start, result in edu- school and have willingly paid the for income. Children with richer, more stimulating early childhood experiences - and, thus, more highly developed brains - will be better prepared to learn in school. At present, child care in Con- and delinquency in participating necticut is so poor that it compro- children, according to research mises school readiness: Only 24 cited in the Packard Foundation percent of the child care centers in report. the state provide good quality care. Thus, 30 years of studies pro- In contrast, child care developed vide evidence that preschool edu- under a new statewide preschool cation is not only related to better policy should be designed to fol- school performance, but also to a low the highest standards of better society for us all. practice. With the leadership of Staples and Dyson, Connecticut has a A good model already exists in good chance to reap the long-term the 30 Family Resource Centers rewards of a timely investment in operating throughout the state, the critical developmental years of where full-day developmental early childhood. child care for preschoolers age 3 to 5 - plus other services to families Edward Zieler is Sterling Professor of - are offered through the public Psychology and director of the Bush schools. Comprehensive early Center in Child Development and So- cial Policy at Yale University He is childhood programs similar to one of the founders of the national Connecticut's Family Resource Head Start program. Julia Dawns is Centers do more than enhance a assistant director of the Bush Center. child's readiness for school, they Readers may write them at the center, actually prevent future criminality 310 Prospect St., New Haven 06511. H.R. 988 -- THE CHILD CARE AVAILABILITY INCENTIVE ACT Representative Deborah Pryce (R-OH) Representative Tim Roemer (D-IN) The Problem: The increase in single parent households, working mothers, and dual income families has seen a dramatic rise in the need for quality, affordable child care. Access to child care is a problem for many due to prohibitive costs, lack of availability, and inconvenience. The Solution: This legislation increases the availability of child care by encouraging businesses to provide child care services to their employees. The bill provides businesses a tax credit equal to 50 percent of the expenses paid or incurred, including depreciation allowances, to provide on-site or site- adjacent dependent care services. The child care must meet state and local requirements and be offered to employees on a non-discriminatory basis. Access to affordable child care at the work site allows parents to work and spend more time with their children. Employer involvement in child care often results in higher quality. Employers receive a credit for providing a significant employee benefit which results in increased worker productivity and decreased absenteeism. The bill promotes family-friendly policies and addresses an urgent societal need. The Cost: While the bill would decrease tax revenues, federal subsidies for child care are expected to decrease in the long term. In addition, studies have shown that employers who provide on-site day care experience higher productivity in the workplace as absenteeism decreases and workers are better able to concentrate on their jobs. A cost estimate was provided by Joint Committee on Taxation during the 104th Congress. According to JCT, the bill will cost $841 million over five years. Currently, Rep. Pryce and Rep. Roemer are looking for an offset. CONTACT: Lori Teets -- X5-2015, Pete Spiro -- X5-3915 Updated 7/10/97 COSPONSORS OF H.R. 988 -- THE CHILD CARE AVAILABILITY INCENTIVE ACT SPONSORED BY REPRESENTATIVE DEBORAH PRYCE (R-OH) 1. Tim Roemer (IN) 30. John McHugh (NY) 2. Susan Molinari (NY) 31. Thomas Foglietta (PA) 3. Martin Frost (TX) 32. Pat Danner (MO) 4. Kay Granger (TX) 33. Robert Menendez (NJ) 5. Zoe Lofgren (CA) 34. Peter Deutsch (FL) 6. Gerald Solomon (NY) 35. Gary Ackerman (NY) 7. David Bonior (MI) 36. Lynn Woolsey (CA) 8. Tom Latham (IA) 37. John Conyers (MI) 9. Carolyn Maloney (NY) 38. Luis Gutierrez (IL) 10. Tillie Fowler (FL) 39. Maurice Hinchey (NY) 11. Eni Faleomavaega (AS) 40. Eliot Engel (NY) 12. James Greenwood (PA) 41. Donald Payne (NJ) 13. Robert Underwood (GU) 42. Louise Slaughter (NY) 14. Jim Walsh (NY) 43. Sue Myrick (NC) 15. Elijah Cummings (MD) 16. Peter King (NY) 17. Jim Moran (VA) 18. Christopher Shays (CT) 19. Bob Filner (CA) 20. Scott Klug (WI) 21. Shiela Jackson-Lee (TX) 22. Matthew Martinez (CA) 23. Jerry Nadler (NY) 24. Joe Knollenberg (MI) 25. Chaka Fattah (NJ) 26. Lynn Rivers (MI) 27. Doug Bereuter (NE) 28. Lane Evans (IL) 29. Eva Clayton (NC) FOR RELEASE UPON DELIVERY STATEMENT OF PETER S. JENSEN, M.D. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES BEFORE THE CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS FOR WOMEN'S ISSUES UNITED STATES CONGRESS JULY 10, 1997 Congressional Testimony, Peter S. Jensen, M.D., July 10, 1997 Page 1 Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and other members of this distinguished Caucus. I am pleased to participate in this hearing on behalf of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Department of Health and Human Services. I send the greetings and regrets of Dr. Steven Hyman, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health. He very much wanted to be here today to testify before the Women's Caucus, but was unable to reschedule his family's long-standing vacation plans abroad. If you please, as a part of my testimony, I would like to submit additional materials for the record on behalf of Dr. Hyman. I am a pediatric psychiatrist and am Chief of the Child and Adolescent Disorders Research Branch at NIMH, within the National Institutes of Health. In my testimony I am drawing upon ongoing and recently completed research conducted by NIH scientists focused on the mental health and development of young children, early brain-behavior relationships, and related research on developmental disorders. Never before in the history of NIMH or NIH has research on the first three years of life been more exciting, more charged with opportunity, and in fact, more fruitful in terms of recent progress than today. My enthusiasm is fired by the development of 1) new methods and models that allow us to understand the developing brain, and how it is molded by environmental experiences, and 2) the emergence of scientific findings with relevance for parents, teachers, child care workers, clinicians, and policy makers. If you will allow me, I would like to briefly outline these two areas of progress. New Models for Understanding Human Development and Behavior. First, our older models of viewing human development, including brain development, have been replaced with newer, more complete understanding. Formerly -- in fact for centuries --, scientists and theorists were guided by the notion that in order to understand human learning, emotion and behavior, they should and could tease apart fully the impacts of nature versus nurture, biology versus psychology, or more recently, genes versus environments. Yet we have now established beyond reasonable doubt that such dichotomies are misleading, much like debating whether air or water is more important for human life, or in geometry, whether a rectangle's height or width is more important in determining its total area. As one of our scientists recently put it, "nurture has a nature, and nature is nurtured". Our emerging understanding that the environment and, in fact, even our thoughts themselves can modify the structure of our brains has supplanted the old notion of nature versus nurture. Today we know that these two components inseparably shape the child's unique outcomes during the course of growth and development. To illustrate: in a young infant's developing eyesight, significant parts of brain development take place after birth. For the eyes and the visual system of the brain to get "wired" together correctly, the young infant must receive the stimulation that occurs as part and parcel of the young infant's daily visual experiences. The newborn with an undetected cataract, if not fixed within the first year, risks losing permanently the development of normal vision in that eye - so-called "cortical blindness" -, even though the genes were normal and the necessary brain connections were intact at birth. But for normal visual development to occur, and for the visual system to come fully "on line" as the child grows, appropriate environmental stimulation is needed at specific periods. Congressional Testimony, Peter S. Jensen, M.D., July 10, 1997 Page 2 And this is true not just for vision ample evidence now indicates that other neural systems are similarly developmentally regulated. that is, they are malleable and sensitive to a range of environment inputs, more so early on, than during later stages of development. Characteristics such as binocular vision, hearing discrimination, speech and language acquisition, social awareness, and even so-called "intelligence," or IQ, appear to be malleable, particularly during the child's youngest years. The mature form of these systems depends upon the layering of environmental experiences simultaneously with the progressive unfolding of the genetic endowment. And remarkably, even which of the body's estimated 100,000 genes are active and functioning within a given brain cell, at any given point in time, depends on the environmental influences impacting upon that cell, as well 35 that cell's previous history of genetic and environmental influences. By "environmental influences," 1 mean both the immediately surrounding environment, such as the activity of other nerve cells in the vicinity, presence of hormones, foreign chemicals, or toxins, as well as influences arising from the child's larger environmental contexts of nurture and stimulation. This malleability or sensitivity of the nervous system to external influences is called "neural plasticity." Obviously, such plasticity is ideal for enabling each child's developing brain to adapt itself to the demands of his/her unique environment. But plasticity is a "two-edged sword." Just as with vision, in the event that the necessary types and amounts of environmental inputs that the brain is "expecting" at certain periods are not received, brain system development can be hampered or even "derailed", with potential long-term consequences. Further, if environmental experiences are injurious or traumatic, a chemical cascade of events can unfold with detrimental consequences to individual nerve cells, cell assemblies, and risk to the young child to develop disorders of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Two caveats, however: First, while the environment plays a critical role in development, only rarely does it affect the actual DNA (i.e., cause a mutation) or the genes passed on to the next generation. Second, as with environments, genes can be both facilitative and detrimental to healthy development, but specific outcomes depend on other factors - environmental influences - acting in concert with those genes. For example, it is now well-accepted that a person's genetic endowment may convey susceptibilities to particular illnesses and developmental disturbances, but usually with required "second hits" from the environment. These points are outlined in detail in the comments submitted by Dr. Hyman. Relevance for Researchers, Policy Makers, and the Public What are the implications of these new models and new knowledge for NIMH and NIH research? NIMH is devoting additional research resources on this period of life, both to understand how healthy developmental patterns are established, as well as to ascertain which specific environmental factors portend risk for development of mental disorder. For example, what are the most effective environments for healthy development? How much stimulation might be too much, and may actually prove to be harmful, for certain children? To address such questions, we are focusing our efforts to determine more precisely the nature, intensity, and duration of necessary stimulation for optimal brain development in the hope of determining how these factors interact with susceptibility genes. And along with this, we are accelerating our search for genes that convey susceptibility to developmental disturbances in learning, behavior, and emotion, i.e., learning disabilities, attention- deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). depression, and autism. Congressional Testimony, Peter S. Jensen, M.D., July 10, 1997 Page 3 With an eye on more immediate pay-offs, we are also accelerating efforts to determine which interventions can increase children's school readiness and success, and decrease vulnerable children's risk for subsequent disorder. For example, given the importance of children's early environments, including intellectual and social stimulation, and, conversely, the detrimental effects of various forms of deprivation and lack of opportunity, NIMH and the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) are working together to develop multi-site studies in partnership with Head Start programs and leading universities. This effort is expected to yield findings with the potential to enhance Head Start program design and to yield eventual mental health benefits to many children at risk for developmental disturbances and mental disorders. Research findings concerning the impact of environmental factors on young children's development, plus evidence suggesting that young children's mental health needs are identified only a small proportion of the time, poses difficult questions for policy makers and the public. What kinds of screening programs should be instituted to identify children in need? What educational efforts are needed to assist teachers, child development workers, and even primary care providers to identify children at risk, without the accompanying fear that "labels" will unnecessarily stigmatize a child? What kinds of additional resources should be put in place to assist these children and families, and how might they be financed? Failing to identify children in need due to lack of evaluation and treatment resources becomes a self-perpetuating problem: when only few children are identified, policy, educational, and health care planners may not devote sufficient resources to meet the underlying, unspoken needs. The results of such inattention may be far more costly for society later as these children grow older, experience difficulties entering the workforce, and confront their own problems in providing optimal environments for the next generation of children. Fortunately, effective interventions are increasingly at hand. For example, interventions with familier at risk to teach parenting strategies have been shown to reduce young children's oppositional and disruptive behaviors, as well as to enhance children's peer relations. Environmental interventions are now quite well-established with autism, other interventions have been shown to reduce depression in young children, and great strides have been made with severe disorders such as ADHD. To increase the generalizability of these research findings across various communities, NIMH is increasing its support of treatment and preventive intervention strategies for high risk children and their families. Given our increased understanding of brain development and awareness of the remarkable interplay between young children's environments and the progressive unfolding of their genetic endowments within "critical" or "sensitive" periods, we now have greater understanding regarding how our prevention and/or remediation strategies for children at risk can be accomplished, including facilitating the establishment of compensatory or alternative neural circuits and/or the development of more adaptive behavioral responses to environmental events. Indeeu, just this year NIMH studies of neural plasticity and brain development have directly led to theory-driven, neural-circuit-specific remediations for groups of children with developmental disorders previously thought intractable Just as healthy development may be mediated by healthy environments under most circumstances, healthy development in at-risk children may be accomplished by various environmental enrichment and remediation strategies, once we understand the neural circuitry involved and the type of intervention required. 10:3014432576 PAGE 6/6 Congressional Testimony, Peter S. Jensen, M.D., July 10, 1997 Page 4 I cannot close without noting that while I am excited by the current opportunities, the pace of research progress is still too slow, and the research needs will always outstrip our ability to address them. For example, much evidence suggests that the frequency of mental health conditions affecting children is on the rise. Depression in young children, rarely identified in previous years, is now more common. Further, children bom today are more at risk for the development of depression than those born in previous decades, and when they do develop it, it strikes them at a younger age than those born in earlier years. While we have research underway to address this and other complex questions, the answers do not yet appear in sight. This gives us plenty to do, but also bodes ill for the current and future suffering of our families, friends and communities. Given the impact of stigma on public recognition of such problems in young children, we are very appreciative of this Caucus' interest in these issues and this opportunity to testify. CHOLOGY 200 4327147 -1- Congress of the United States U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues Hearing July 10, 1997 Testimony of Edward Zigler, Yale University Thank you, Madam Chairperson, for giving me the opportunity to speak before this committee on how new discoveries about brain development should impact national policy. I am Sterling Professor of Psychology at Yale University and director of the Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy. I have studied the growth and development of children for over 40 years. In the 1970's, I was named first director of what is now the Administration for Children, Youth and Families and was the federal official responsible for administering our nation's Head Start program. The brain research you have heard about today is indeed exciting: it tells us that an infant's brain grows rapidly in the first weeks and months of life more rapidly than previously suspected - and that the early experiences of the growing child play a determining role in the basic "wiring" of the brain for life. For example, a baby who is talked to often and sensitively will develop a greater capacity for the complex use of language than will babies who receive little verbal stimulation or whose attempts at vocalization are ignored. Thanks to the new research, we can't just attribute these differences to genetics, or "nature." Nurture plays a powerful role, starkly visible in MRI images of the developing brain: unstimulated, unused neural pathways are literally pruned away forever beginning at about the age of two; only the neural connections that have been used remain. 203 4327147 3 establish the rhythms of life, to reach a level of sensitive attunement and to become securely attached. Secondly, the problem of child care in America should be seriously addressed. Excellent child care exists for infants and toddlers, but it is the exception, not the rule. Most families are not able to find out-of-home care that is both affordable and good for their children. In a recent study of child care centers in four states, 40% of the infant and toddler rooms were observed to be unstimulating and, even worse, to actually put children's health and safety at risk. Only one infant/toddler room in 12 provided developmentally beneficial care. The news is no better for family day care homes, where many young children spend long hours. Only 12% of all regulated family day care is good for children, as is 3% of non-regulated care and 1% of out-of-home care provided by relatives. The rest is mediocre or inadequate, These grim statistics mean that the majority of caregivers are not engaging children in the kind of conversation and other activities that enhance growth and development. One important step toward improving child care would be to set reasonable national standards for child care quality, to be used as guidelines by the states. Currently, standards for child care practice vary widely from state to state. A recent analysis of state regulations for center-based infant and toddler care found that no states have regulations that require good child care practice, and only 17 states can be characterized as minimally acceptable. The rest are rated as poor or very poor. As individual states respond to an increased demand for subsidized child care under welfare reform, many are looking for ways to relax or circumvent their own standards for regulated care in an attempt to pay less than what they know good care costs. This treud is harmful to children and should be resisted. In addition to insisting on decent standards for child MICHOLOGY 203 4327147 4 care quality, we should also find ways to improve the training of child care workers and to also improve their abysmally low salaries. My final recommendation is to support the expansion of parent education programs such as Parents as Teachers, which provide home visits and timely information about child development to parents of children from birth to age 3. These programs are voluntary and very popular with parents in states, like Missouri, where they are offered through the public schools. On a positive note, we should be aware that our nation's relatively new Early Head Start program is totally consonant with the new research on brain development. I was delighted to hear at the White House a month ago that the Clinton Administration is planning to expand this program by 100 sites. STATE E NORTH GREAT CAROLINA THE E YOU North Carolina Department of Human Resources Division of Child Development 319 Chapanoke Road P.O. Box 29553 Raleigh, NC 27626-0553 Telephone Number: (919) 662-4499 Fax: (919) 662-4570 Courier Number 56-20-17 James B. Hunt Jr, Governor Stephanie D. Faniul. Director H. David Bruton, M.D., Secretary Peggy M. Ball, De., frector July 10, 1997 Thank you for the opportunity to speak this morning on behalf of North Carolina's Governor, Jim Hunt. I am honored to share with you some of the successes and challenges we have encountered as we work to provide the best possible future for our youngest children. My goal this morning is to provide you with some history, a sense of the structure of our effort, and share the enormous progress we have experienced. Today in North Carolina, there is great hope, and a great sense of pride in everyone working together to make a brighter future for our state's children. Our success story begins with the vision of a strong, committed Governor who made children his top priority. Governor Hunt has long been an "education Governor" who has equipped our state with the tools to make sure each and every child gets the education deserved. In his first term, he implemented full day kindergarten statewide, he put teacher assistants in the public schools and today he is leading the effort to put in place professional teaching standards. For 20 years, Governor Hunt has worked to improve education. Just last month, he signed into law North Carolina's most comprehensive education improvement act entitled "the Excellent School Act." But good public schools are just half the battle. Governor Hunt will tell you that he can't make NC's schools strong enough to adequately prepare our future workforce if children birth through five don't get quality development before they come to school. DCD/ fanjul/ 7/9/97 1 In 1993 when the Governor was running for his third term, his primary goal was to ensure that every child in NC came to school healthy and ready to succeed. He knew that we had a lot of work to do to get there and that the diverse needs of our communities would require multiple strategies to reach the goal. It was from this need and this understanding that Smart Start was born. And, it is from the efforts of private corporations, public officials, volunteers, non-profits and strong leadership that Smart Start lives. Smart Start is North Carolina's comprehensive approach to early childhood development. The structure consists of a state level non-profit organization, the North Carolina Partnership for Children, and local level non-profit organizations that direct the activities of their communities' efforts. The funding comes from state dollars that are appropriated by the legislature to my agency, the NC Division of Child Development, which provides state level accountability and technical assistance. What this means is that each local partnership examines it's needs and designs solutions that will help us meet the Governor's goal that all children in NC come to school healthy and ready to succeed. By design the membership of the local partnership is diverse and includes parents, public agency leaders, county commissioners, schools, day care, Head Start, non- profit organizations, the faith community and business leaders. These people know their communities and the families that live there, they know what will work and what won't, and they know what funding can be leveraged to create better solutions. Today in North Carolina 42 counties have Smart Start. And with the support of the NC General Assembly this year, the appropriations will allow us to expand to all 100 counties. And by the year 2000, we hope to have Smart Start fully functional and fully funded in every county. The total estimated annual allocation for full funding is $325 million. An outstanding commitment to the young children of North Carolina. Already, the results of this locally driven effort have been evident. In aggregate the numbers speak for themselves: More than 37,000 children have received child care subsidies so their parents can work. DCD/ fanjul/ 7/9/97 2 More than 32,000 spaces in child care programs have been created. More than 65,000 children have child care teachers with higher educational credentials. More than 87,000 children have received early intervention and preventive health screenings. The overall quality of child care has improved in each participating Smart Start counties. Individual counties have experienced equally impressive results: In Ashe County, 58 of the 69 child care teachers in the county have increased their education through the TEACH early childhood project. In Orange County, 182 child care teachers and directors received salary supplements. As a result, there was a 22% decrease in the teacher turnover rate in that county. In Person County, an assessment of children who were not promoted from kindergarten revealed that none of them had been involved in Smart Start activities. In Burke County, a public dental health clinic was established for the 30% of the kindergartners who needed dental treatments. More than 200 children have been treated so far. While Smart Start was the impetus for these changes, there are other efforts that have accelerated the progress we are seeing for our youngest children. Two of the most significant are the TEACH early childhood project and the reform of our subsidized child care system. The TEACH early childhood project is a statewide program designed to provide educational scholarship opportunities for child care teachers. This project establishes an agreement between the teacher, the child care program and the agency. Together they agree that the teacher will receive scholarship assistance and time off in exchange for increased compensation when the educational component is successfully completed. Over 4,339 teachers since 1993 have participated in the project at a per teacher cost of less than $550 per year. All 100 of our counties participate at an annual recurring allocation from the legislature of $1,400,000. DCD/ fanjul/ 7/9/97 3 Because of Smart Start, North Carolina is well prepared for welfare reform and the additional child care needed to support parents who are going to work. The Governor and the legislature have been far sighted in their thinking about the need for funding for child care subsidies. For several years we have blended our funding streams to maximize revenue and flexibility. Most recently, there have been major changes in the way we administer subsidies and we have expanded the eligibility of families who could receive child care subsidies up to 214% of the federal poverty level. We are also in the process of reforming the child care regulatory law in order to better meet the needs of families and providers. All of these changes combine to give our children a better chance at the future. It is a hopeful time for children in North Carolina. We have a great leader who has challenged us to take responsibility for all of our children and given us the tools we need to do the job well. We hope our efforts in North Carolina will help everyone understand what we can accomplish for the children of our nation -- when we all work together. Stephanie Fanjul DCD/ fanjul/ 7/9/97 4