Innovative Directions for Recognizing and Meeting the Needs of Young Children and Families

Forty years ago in Chicago, the host city of this year’s American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, the astute businessman and philanthropist, Irving Harris recognized the importance of infancy and the early childhood years. Believing in the capacity of infants and young children and the importance of nurturing their development, he established a network of programs around the country to gain knowledge, improve training and interventions, and influence public policy.  These four decades have witnessed an explosion of knowledge in this field including knowledge about infant mental health being more fully integrated into education and training. There has been growing recognition of the influences of traumatic experiences on young children, the effects of abuse, neglect on brain development, and the relationship of  early adverse experiences and childhood and adult cognitive and emotional development as well as medical problems.  There is accompanying data on public health approaches and interventions that can right the developmental trajectories and improve adult prognosis.  The presentations in this session will describe different training, intervention, services, and public policy approaches developed to address these important issues.  Innovative efforts will be discussed that influence outcomes for the most vulnerable maltreated young children by building collaborations across systems that interface with child welfare.  Important evidence-based training to build expertise in providing evaluations and treatment for very young children and their families will be described including applications to diverse populations and the research that supports the evidence based practice.  New ways of integrating mental and behavioral health evaluations and services in primary care clinics will be discussed which involve meeting families where they are to make treatment much more accessible and acceptable.  With all of these efforts to expand knowledge, the important public policy issues must be a part of the effort.  The presentations will include a discussion of ways to influence public policy including building public-private partnerships to effect change.  The session will increase knowledge about the importance of the early years and describe programs and efforts that have made a difference in the lives of young children and families.