National Academy of Sciences
2101 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20418
202-334-2000

Date: Oct. 3, 2000
Contacts: Vanee Vines, Media Relations Associate
Mark Chesnek, Media Relations Assistant
(202) 334-2138; e-mail <news@nas.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Policies, Programs That Affect Young Children Fail to Keep Pace With
Scientific Advances, Changing Society

WASHINGTON -- Given the explosion in scientific knowledge about development
from birth to age 5, coupled with dramatic social and economic changes in
recent decades, the nation should thoroughly re-examine policies that affect
young children and bolster its investments in their well-being, says a new
report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the
National Academies.

"As a nation, we're simply not taking advantage of how much we have learned
about early development over the past 40 years," said Jack P. Shonkoff,
chair of the committee that wrote the report and dean of the Florence Heller
Graduate School, Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass. "Work and family life
are changing dramatically yet children's needs are not being addressed. This
is not about blaming parents, the workplace, communities, or government.
This is about sharing responsibility, separating fact from fiction, and
using scientific knowledge to promote the well-being of babies and young
children."

Although society tends to focus on children's academic advancement, their
social and emotional development are just as important, the report
emphasizes. And their needs in these areas should receive investments and
attention similar to those devoted to the three R's. For example, scientific
evidence shows that even very young children are capable of experiencing
deep anguish and grief in response to trauma, loss, and personal rejection.
But many early childhood education and child-care programs have failed to
apply such findings to everyday dealings with children, and the severe
shortage of professionals with training in children's mental-health issues
exacerbates the situation.

In the past several decades, significant advances in neuroscience and the
behavioral and social sciences have shed new light on early development and
what kids need to thrive. Research indicates that early relationships are
especially critical, and that cultural values and practices provide the
context for these bonds. Youngsters who lack at least one loving and
consistent caregiver, such as a parent or attentive child-care provider, may
suffer from severe and long-lasting developmental problems, the report says.
However, what currently exists in the United States is a mixed bag of
policies and practices that often are based on little or no evidence that
they actually promote children's well-being.

As a first step to tackle the problem, the president should establish a task
force to review the entire portfolio of public investments in child care and
early childhood education -- with the goal of making the most of scientific
knowledge. The final product should be a 10-year plan that focuses on ways
to foster sustained relationships between preschoolers and qualified
caregivers; addresses the special needs of children with developmental
disabilities or chronic health conditions; and ensures that all child-care
settings are safe, stimulating, and responsive to families' individual
concerns, the report says.

In addition, Congress and the president's Council of Economic Advisers
should scrutinize the nation's tax, wage, and income-support policies with
an eye toward ensuring that working families with children are not in
poverty and that no family suffers from deep and persistent poverty --
regardless of employment status. Poverty during a child's early development
is more harmful than at any other time because it often limits access to
enriching experiences and qualified child-care providers, the committee
noted.

The report also calls for larger investments in children's mental-health
care, a neglected policy area. Rather than confronting this issue
thoughtfully, the nation has sought quick fixes, including allowing the
extensive use of drugs such as Ritalin on preschoolers with behavioral
problems. Instead, changes are needed across-the-board to focus on
distinguishing between youngsters with serious emotional disorders and those
who are simply immature or experiencing short-term developmental delays, the
committee said. More incentives also should be offered to professionals with
expertise in children's mental-health issues to work in child-care settings.
And to identify and address problems before they worsen, state and local
authorities should automatically conduct developmental and behavioral
screenings of all children who are referred to child-welfare agencies
because of suspected abuse or neglect.

Left in the Lurch?

The lack of focused attention to early childhood development -- between
birth and age 5 -- could not have come at a worse time. America is
experiencing a period of tremendous social and economic change, the
committee noted. Despite the nation's economic upswing and higher levels of
maternal education, financial hardship is not uncommon. In fact,
preschoolers today are more likely to be from poor families than they were
25 years ago. Many parents work more hours out of economic necessity, and
often outside the typical 9-to-5 time frame -- an increased workload that
has left some parents straining to balance making a living with family time.
Record numbers of women with young children also work outside the home,
resulting in a rapid growth in reliance on child care for infants and
toddlers.

Challenges stemming from such circumstances reflect some of the most complex
problems of modern society. Rather than offer recommendations for specific
action -- many of which have been made before and gone unheeded -- the
committee underscored the compelling need for a comprehensive reassessment
of the nation's child-care and income-support policies. The persistence and
pervasiveness of substandard child care and dearth of high-quality services
are particularly indefensible, the report says.

Federal policy-makers should recognize the importance of strong early
relationships between young children and their caregivers by expanding
coverage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to all working parents,
the committee said. Currently, employees must meet several criteria to
receive unpaid time off under this law. According to some estimates, the
FMLA does not cover 40 percent of private-sector employees. Policy-makers
also should explore ways to financially support low-income parents who take
family leave, since even a temporary loss of earnings can be a hardship. To
further promote family ties early on, government leaders should extend the
amount of time that welfare recipients with infant children are excused from
meeting work requirements of welfare-reform plans.

The time also has come for society to recognize the significance of those
who care for children when their parents are not available, and the
importance of stability and quality in these relationships, the committee
added. The major funding sources for child care and early education should
set aside money to support initiatives aimed at increasing the
qualifications, pay, and benefits of child-care professionals. These
initiatives can be built on the successful experience of the U.S. Department
of Defense, which invested in better training and pay for child-care
providers serving military families. The department's efforts, spurred by a
1989 federal law, cut the provider turnover rate from 48 percent to 24
percent in four years.

Separating Fact From Fiction

The committee's comprehensive study debunked many popular myths about the
early childhood period. For starters, although there is considerable
evidence that early experiences influence brain development, the
neurological window of opportunity does not slam shut at age 3 or 5. Such
development begins before birth, continues throughout life, and is
influenced by both genetics and the surrounding environment, the report
says. The long-standing debate about the importance of nature vs. nurture,
considered as independent influences, is overly simplistic and
scientifically obsolete.

Plus, there are no special programs that are guaranteed to accelerate early
learning during infancy, the report says. Most children thrive naturally
when adults routinely talk, read, and play with them in a safe and
encouraging environment. Despite the proliferation of materials that claim
to raise babies' IQs, there is a lack of hard scientific data on how
enrichment activities affect early brain development. For example, the
so-called "Mozart Effect," a theory that suggests that exposing youngsters
to classical music may boost their brainpower, has never been studied in
young children.

But well-designed intervention programs to help disadvantaged youngsters or
children with serious health conditions can indeed make a difference, the
report says. And such programs should be more accessible to parents who work
full time, particularly during nonstandard hours. Furthermore, the
prevalence of serious family problems -- such as substance abuse, maternal
depression, and family violence -- makes clear the need for specialized
expertise that typically is not available in traditional intervention
programs, which tend to focus on children.

Additional evaluation research is needed to determine how different types of
interventions affect children and families from a wide variety of
socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, the report says. Also needed are
more rigorous evaluations of intervention efforts, and greater collaboration
among child-development researchers, neuroscientists, and molecular
geneticists who want to learn more about how biogenetic and environmental
factors jointly influence early development.

The study was sponsored by the National Research Council and Institute of
Medicine, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of
Education, Commonwealth Fund, Irving B. Harris Foundation, Heinz Endowments,
and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Research Council -- the principal
operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy
of Engineering -- and Institute of Medicine are private, nonprofit
institutions that provide science and health policy advice under a
congressional charter. A committee roster follows.

Pre-publication copies of From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of
Early Childhood Development are available from the National Academy Press at
the mailing address in the letterhead; tel. (202) 334-3313 or
1-800-624-6242. The cost of the report is $45.00 (prepaid) plus shipping
charges of $4.50 for the first copy and $.95 for each additional copy.
Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information
at the letterhead address (contacts listed above).


NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
Board on Children, Youth, and Families
Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development

Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D.1 (chair)
Dean
Florence Heller Graduate School, and
Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development
Brandeis University
Waltham, Mass.

Deborah L. Coates, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
City University of New York
New York City

Greg J. Duncan, Ph.D.
Professor of Education and Social Policy
School of Education and Social Policy, and
Faculty Associate
Institute for Policy Research
Northwestern University
Evanston, Ill.

Felton J. Earls, M.D.1
Professor of Psychiatry
Department of Child Psychology
Harvard Medical School, and
Director
Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods
Harvard University School of Public Health
Cambridge, Mass.

Robert N. Emde, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
Department of Psychiatry
Health Sciences Center
University of Colorado
Denver

Yolanda Garcia, M.A.
Director of Children's Services
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Santa Clara, Calif.

Susan Gelman, Ph.D.
Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor

Susan J. Goldin-Meadow, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Chicago
Chicago

William T. Greenough, Ph.D.2
Swanlund Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Cell and Structural
Biology
Departments of Psychology and Cell and Structural Biology, and
Director
Center for Advanced Study
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign

Ruth T. Gross, M.D.1
Professor Emerita of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics
Stanford University Medical School
Longboat Key, Fla.

Megan Gunnar, Ph.D.
McKnight University Professor
Institute of Child Development
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis

Michael Guralnick, Ph.D.
Director
Center on Human Development and Disability, and
Professor
Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics
University of Washington
Seattle

Alicia F. Lieberman, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychiatry
University of California
San Francisco

Betsy Lozoff, M.D.
Professor of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases
Medical School, and
Director
Center for Human Growth and Development
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor

Ruth Massinga, M.S.
Chief Executive Officer
Casey Family Program
Seattle

Stephen W. Raudenbush, Ed.D.
Professor of Research Design and Statistics
Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education
School of Education
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor

Ross A. Thompson, Ph.D.
Carl A. Happold Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
University of Nebraska
Lincoln

STAFF

Deborah A. Phillips, Ph.D.
Study Director
1 Member, Institute of Medicine
2 Member, National Academy of Sciences

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