The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #69433

Kathryn J. Horsley, DrPH, Epidemiology, Planning and Evaluation, Public Health-Seattle & King County, Wells Fargo Center, Suite 1200, 999 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, 206 296-2789, kathryn.horsley@metrokc.gov and Sandra Ciske, MN, RN, Epidemiology, Planning and Evaluation Unit, Public Health - Seattle & King County, 999 Third Avenue, Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98104.

Public Health--Seattle & King County initiated a partnership with local and state public and private stakeholders concerned with early childhood development. Partnership goals were to: 1) help create a common knowledge-of-science base to guide advocacy; 2) inform and shape policies, services and professional training to support optimal early child development; and 3) educate the public about state of the art knowledge and local environmental influences on early childhood. Over 18 months, partners reviewed the science, specifically the research summarized in the Institute of Medicine report, From Neurons to Neighborhoods, and then generated a policy agenda based on the science. Through large and small group meetings, stakeholders participated in a prioritization process that required the evaluation of potential policies based on criteria of robustness, equity, feasibility, effectiveness, and opportunities for action in the present political environment. Fourteen key policies emerged and form the basis of a policy action agenda. A poster that displays the summarized science alongside the corresponding policy recommendations was printed and distributed widely to legislators, legislative staff, agency directors and planners, educators, and citizen activists. Public Health—Seattle & King County will monitor the status of these 14 policy areas to keep partners informed, assess and distribute indicators of early childhood environments, and convene annual meetings of partners in order to reexamine the priorities.

Learning Objectives:

1.Articulate connections between early childhood development and social determinants of health. 2.List three criteria for evaluating and prioritizing a set of policy recommendations.
• Develop a plan for building a regional partnership to promote local and state policies that are informed by the science of early childhood development.

Keywords: Policy/Policy Development,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The book, From Neurons to Neighborhoods, published by the National Academy Press was used as the focus for this local partnership.
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.