Investments in Our Children Early on Build Fulfilling Lives

Experience as sheriff revealed costs and consequences of neglecting community's youngest citizens.

Among the many challenges and opportunities that I will confront as mayor of Shelby County, one of the most important for the long-term growth and livelihood of this community is promoting the success of our youngest citizens. Many decisions made at all levels of county government have an impact on children, and we need to be cognizant of that impact and ensure that it is positive.

A crucial precedent was set during the mayoral campaign when time was allocated in a July 15 debate for the candidates to address children's issues specifically. The debate was organized by WREG-TV Channel 3 and the Early Success Coalition, a public-private partnership co-chaired by Le Bonheur Center for Children and Parents and the Shelby County Office of Early Childhood and Youth. The coalition consists of 60-plus agencies in this community. Its vision is, in part, 'that babies across Shelby County are born healthy and raised by strong, resilient families with positive parenting and knowledge of child development… '

After eight years as Shelby County sheriff, I have become intimately acquainted with the potential costs and consequences of babies whose health and well-being are compromised due to poor preconception and prenatal health of the mother and lack of parental knowledge about child development.

I saw many of those babies in the justice system starting when they were 15 years old and continuing throughout their lives. I understand how and why many of them become incarcerated. A baby's development - and, in particular, a baby's brain development - is foundational for learning and success later in school and in life.

Skill begets skill; just as one example, communication through language is one of the most important skills we learn as human beings. Learning the skill of language is a process that begins through a serve-and-return interaction between a baby and his parents and caregivers. A baby listens to those caring for him, babbles in response, and then eventually talks well before he learns to read. Rich language - five-word sentences and affirmations - is the necessary step for reading. From kindergarten until the third grade - age 8 or 9 - a child is learning to read; from then on, he is reading to learn, which is necessary for learning in high school.

Close to 80 percent of the county jail inmates at 201 Poplar do not have a high school diploma. Many of them did not have strong language skills when they entered kindergarten and were already so far behind their peers that they never learned to read, or at least not very well. Thus, reading to learn from age 9 forward was nearly an insurmountable task for them. They became truant from school and eventually dropped out altogether. Employment opportunities are limited or nonexistent for high school dropouts, so these babies, sometimes as soon as 15 years after birth, became residents of 201 Poplar.

The Urban Child Institute has published a Data Book each year for the past five years called The State of Children in Memphis and Shelby County. It states that approximately 15,000 babies are born every year in Shelby County. Because of poverty and low maternal education rates, among other factors, nearly 8,000 of them are at risk for not reaching their optimum potential in school, which increases the risk of encounters with the justice system. Around 1,600 of those babies are born at low birth weight, and have an increased risk of delayed development, chronic medical problems or death during infancy.

There are both public and private efforts in our community that seek to give children at risk a healthier start. As mayor, I am ultimately responsible for the success of the early childhood initiatives that are administered through various departments of county government. Examples of these initiatives include the Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative, the Fetal Infant Mortality Review, Early Head Start, Head Start, Centering Pregnancy, Community Voice, Healthy Start, and the Helping Us Grow Successfully program. Each of these programs is focused on mitigating risk factors and preventing problems. Because of limited federal, state and local funds, each is only capable of serving a limited number of the children whose families are eligible to participate. We must continue to look for more ways to invest in our children during the earliest years of life.

Experience has taught me the importance of early childhood investments. If we really want our county to thrive and meet its maximum potential in the long term, we must continue to invest wisely in our youngest citizens.

Mark Luttrell is mayor of Shelby County.

This is one in a series of monthly guest columns on the importance of public/private investment in early childhood. For more information, call The Urban Child Institute at 523-9199.

Originally appeared in The Commercial Appeal at http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/sep/19/guest-column-investments-in-our-children-early/