Washington named first �Innovation State� to collaborate with national partnership involving Harvard University

For Immediate Release: October 24, 2011

OLYMPIA � Washington state has been chosen as the first state in the nation to join forces with a national partnership that uses emerging research on child development to support better outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

The science of early childhood development shows that investing in quality early learning, social, and health programs yields healthy and capable children, strengthens families, and supports economic stability. Washington�s goal is to use this science across the state�s early care and education, health, and child welfare and economic support systems to improve outcomes for large populations of young children. Washington partners include the Department of Early Learning, Department of Social and Health Services, Department of Health, Health Care Authority, and Thrive by Five Washington.

The Early Childhood Innovation Partnership (ECIP) consists of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, and the TruePoint Center for High Performance and High Commitment (TruePoint). In May, ECIP launched Frontiers of Innovation, a national community of researchers, practitioners, policymakers, states, and sites committed to advancing the field of early childhood policy and practice through collaborative learning and the testing and implementation of creative, new ideas.

As one of nine states to participate in launching Frontiers of Innovation (FOI), Washington is the first state to begin collaborating with the FOI community to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families. States in the collaboration must set goals, show commitment from a critical mass of state leadership, develop an explicit impact strategy and innovation agenda, offer transparency in sharing progress, and share ECIP�s aspirations for mutual success and collective impact.

�We in Washington understand that a high-quality early childhood system that prepares a child for success in school and in life focuses on healthy positive relationships between a child and adults in their life,� said Gov. Chris Gregoire. �With our 10-year statewide Early Learning Plan, the research done by the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, and strong public and private partnerships, we are ready to focus even more intently on using emerging brain research to shape our early childhood policies and programs.�

�Washington continues to be at the forefront of using science to make policy decisions about how to help children grow up healthy and ready for school,� said Center on the Developing Child Director Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., a leading expert on the science of early childhood and brain development. �Leaders in Washington understand how critical early childhood experiences are in shaping a child�s future development, and we want to build upon that understanding through our work together.�

Department of Early Learning Director Bette Hyde, Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Susan N. Dreyfus, and Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, traveled to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University in May 2011 to participate in a two-day workshop that launched the Frontiers of Innovation community. This included an opportunity to explore ways to use the science of early childhood development to better align policies and programs. For example, brain research shows that:
� Interactions between children and the adults in their lives�parents, caregivers and others�help shape brain circuits and lay the foundation for academic performance and interpersonal skills.
� Early childhood experiences affect the development of a child�s �executive function�� skills that allow people to, for example, attend to multiple streams of information, plan ahead, and revise plans as necessary, much like an air traffic control system in the brain.
� Severe, chronic adversity in early childhood�by causing what is called �toxic stress��can impact the way a child�s brain grows and develops. This negatively alters lifelong health and how a child learns and adapts to stressful situations.
In collaboration with the Early Childhood Innovation Partnership, Washington will continue to use brain research to explore how policies can be shaped to minimize the disruptive impacts of toxic stress on young children and to support healthy interactions between children and the adults in their lives. Washington will engage in thinking about innovative, practical ideas to improve the well-being of children and families, and implement these ideas in this state.
Initial goals for Washington�s work through the partnership include:

� Supporting interventions that protect the integrity of maturing brain circuitry and establish the foundation for lifelong health and learning.
� Providing interventions to improve executive functioning and self-regulation for children, youth, and adults;
� Assuring more stable and secure care-giving contexts for vulnerable young children;
� Strengthening the capacities of parents, caregivers, staff, and providers of early care, social and health services, and education to buffer children from the consequences of persistent or recurrent toxic stress.