skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Promising Approach to VA Early-Childhood Development

play audio
Play

Friday, May 27, 2016   

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia is taking a smart approach to early childhood development efforts, according to advocates of early learning.

The state has been criticized for not making public preschool accessible to more children, but Emily Griffey, senior policy analyst for early care and education at Voices for Virginia's Children, advocates addressing the whole child. If you just focus on public preschool -- Head Start and the Virginia Preschool Initiative -- it's almost too late, she said.

Griffey said she is somewhat optimistic that the state is starting to integrate early-childhood efforts that had been fragmented. That fits better with what is known about how early brain development happens, she said.

"Preschool versus home visiting, versus a pediatric clinic," she said. "For young kids, learning happens wherever they are, and we want wherever they are to be high-quality, developmentally appropriate."

Griffey said there's been a funding boost for home visiting as well as improvements to public child care and preschool programs. Additionally, she said, the new Children's Cabinet and School Readiness Council are taking a similar "whole child" approach and are made to outlast any one administration.

Early-childhood development involves issues as separate as nutrition and dental care and even parents' mental health, Griffey said, adding that there are signs that lawmakers from both parties recognize the importance of investing in young children.

"What was so great this year is that we had examples of champions from both sides of the aisle," she said. "Gov. (Terry) McAuliffe put things into the budget, and the House Republicans adopted early childhood as part of their education agenda."

Griffey stressed that adverse experiences and childhood trauma can hurt a child for life, making a supportive early-learning environment even more critical.

"Those experiences can shape their brain development early on," she said, "and can really lead to a lifetime of other issues - discipline issues, repeating grades, medical issues."

However, she also stressed the good news: Early intervention can help these children thrive.

More information is online at vakids.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021