A Big Thank You to All Who Participated In Making The Building Our Children’s Futures: A Multi-Disciplinary Conference to Address and Confront Child Poverty
A Success!!
The first ever Building Our Children’s Future: A Multi-Disciplinary Conference to Address has come and gone. Maybe folks were being polite but going by my informal survey, the conference was a high-quality event. By all accounts, it was a great 2 days.
A lot of hard work went into making the conference go off so smoothly. I would like to thank all who made it happen.
Peggy Cormeny produce a wonderful video of the conference please click on the following link: https://animoto.com/play/MRnf1rlPRSYy4jUlIwCCTw?autostart=1
Special Thanks to the Children in Poverty Committee Members, a true community collaboration:
- Peggy Cormeny, District 186 Family And Community Engagement Coordinator
- Mary Dobbin, SIU School of Medicine
- Mark Dochterman, UIS Director of Volunteer and Civic Engagement
- Sharmin Doering, Executive Director Sangamon County Community Resources
- Mary Dobbins, MD, Professor/Physician SIU School of Medicine
- Tess Dooley, UIS Instructor Legal Studies
- Tyrone Dooley, UIS Assistant Professor, Public Administration
- Lauri Morrison – Frichtl, Director of the Illinois Head Start Association
- Betsy Goulet, UIS Research Assistant Professor
- Mike Jones, (Retire) Assistant to the IL Director of Healthcare and Human Services
- Tracey Kriepe, Director of Executive Director Illinois Valley Economic Development Corporation
- Michael D. Schlosser, Director, Police Training Institute, University of Illinois
- Katrina Schroeder, Director of Community Impact
- Tracey Smith, SIU School of Medicine, Director of Medical Student Education for the Department of Family and Community Medicine
- Sameer Vohra – Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, SIU School of Medicine
- Christine Westerlund, IACAA Director of Professional Development
A big thank you to all of the conference speakers!! There are too many of you to name individually, but if it were not for you such an informative, transformative and valuable conference would not have been possible. Conference Speakers3.17.17
Thank you to all of the conference Sponsors! Without your support and sponsorship the conference could not have been such a success. for a list of our sponsors click on the above Sponsors – Partners..
Conference Keynote Sessions – Video On Demand
Go to Sessions – Programs section listed above.
Building Bridges
The Conference created a forum that bridges research, application and practice by bringing healthcare professionals, K-12 teachers, mental health professionals, law enforcement professionals, early childhood professionals, and social service professionals together with scholars, practitioners, policymakers, service providers and activists in the fields of neuroscience, pediatric medicine, mental health, education, law enforcement and social service to explore:
- The current research on the damaging effects of poverty on child outcomes.
- Evidence based prevention – intervention programs and strategies that work.
- The public policy implications on the damaging effects of poverty on child well-being.
The Impact of Childhood Poverty
About one in five children in our state—more than 600,000—live in poverty. These children face obstacles that adversely affect their future opportunities. This is significant because children growing up in poverty are more likely to have physical health problems, delayed social-emotional development, and lower academic achievement. These patterns are particularly strong for children whose families experience deep poverty, who are poor during early childhood, and who are trapped in poverty for a long time. While each of these challenges is burdensome on its own, each also can translate into diminished economic opportunities and outcomes in adulthood.
Although more research is needed on the significance of the timing of poverty on child outcomes, findings to date suggest that prevention – intervention during early childhood may be most important in reducing poverty’s impact on children. Consequently, a coordinated and collaborative community approach is essential to addressing the lasting impact of childhood poverty.