Recently,
the Child and Family Policy Center issued a report documenting the challenges
faced by many of Iowa’s children and their families. The report, "A Baseline on Iowa's Young Children: Capturing the Demand for
Early-Childhood Services" notes that Iowa has one of the nation’s
highest rates of children with one or both parents working, and an increasing
number of single parent families. These are just 2 of the many factors
that contribute to stress within the family and affecting young children.
Although a majority of Iowa children begin school in good health
and with appropriate cognitive, language, and social/emotional development –
termed “school readiness” – to be prepared to engage in learning. There
is, however, a significant share of Iowa children who are dramatically behind
their peers and require special assistance to “catch up.”
Nationally, 56% of children begin school behind peers in at least
one measure (cognitive, social/emotional, or physical), and 21% are behind in 2
or more areas – requiring significant school time and investment in
remediation. These facts led researchers to question whether it is
possible to identify these children early and provide support and assistance
that will reduce this trend. A tremendous amount of data points
to identifying and responding to high-need children through the family.
Here are what the report terms “Top-line Findings” in defining
children with high needs:
• There is no one measure that captures “need” among children; rather a cluster of characteristics that
contribute to
good
or bad outcomes.
On average,
the prevalence of poor early-childhood outcomes is highest among
children of less-educated, unmarried or adolescent parents, parents who are
depressed, parents with limited incomes
who have difficulty meeting basic
needs, and among children with
special needs themselves.
•
A significant share of Iowa
families face economic stress;
many are headed by young and less-educated parents.
More than 40 percent
of Iowa’s young children live in households
below 200 percent of poverty,
a realistic measure of what
it takes to support a family.
Nearly one in five (19 percent of the total) live
in households below 100 percent of poverty ($22,314 for a family of four in 2010). In 2010, 17 percent
of Iowa first-time births, and 8 percent of total
births, were to adolescent mothers,
almost all of whom were
unmarried with less than a high school diploma.
• Another significant share of Iowa
children have special health
needs. In fact, 21 percent of Iowa children
four months to five years
of age are at moderate
or high risk of developmental, behavioral or social delays. Based on national research,
we know over 50 percent of young
children begin kindergarten behind in at least one area of special need
and over
20 percent have multiple needs that require
even
greater
levels
of support.
As we know, the United Way of Central Iowa’s Women’s Leadership
Connection has supported early childhood education as a key priority for the
past 10 years, assisting with accreditation of early learning centers and
preschools, facility improvements, book drives, teacher training, and volunteer
readers. Several Chrysalis Board members have participated in this
tremendous project.
The work of Chrysalis takes place in prevention efforts through
Chrysalis After-School, which we created and have funded since 1998. Our
goal is to assure that girls gain the knowledge and skills to become resilient
and successful women – overcoming and/or avoiding these “top-line findings" that
cause the next generation (their families) to face these tremendous
challenges. Since we began, nearly 6,000 adolescent girls have been part
of this powerful program. It’s the best investment in the future we can
possibly make.
