information for practice

A knowledge revolution is transforming our understanding of how young children grow and learn, what they need to succeed in school, and how they can reach adulthood as healthy, productive, and participating members of society. This remarkable advance is critical for policymakers – it directs us to the nature of the environments, supports and relationships that are fundamental for all children. We now have the basis to make informed decisions that will significantly affect the future of our children, our families, our economy, and our society. The combination of recent findings from neuroscience, early intervention studies, and program evaluation provides excellent guidance for designing policy and directing resources to ensure children’s healthy development. That’s the big message from the National Summit on Children. Panels of distinguished experts – scientists and medical professionals, business leaders and law enforcement, academics and experienced evaluators – presented the latest science about how the brain develops, what interventions make a difference and why, and how family stability is central to a child growing up ready to achieve.