{"id":112833,"date":"2015-04-30T18:25:47","date_gmt":"2015-05-01T00:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/start-with-kids-and-start-early\/"},"modified":"2015-04-30T18:25:47","modified_gmt":"2015-05-01T00:25:47","slug":"start-with-kids-and-start-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/start-with-kids-and-start-early\/","title":{"rendered":"Start with kids, and start early"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Craig Nelson checks the eyes of Clara Shipman as her mom, Karyn, watches. Free health exams were available Saturday during the Children\u2019s Festival at the Cortez Recreation Center.<\/span>Sam Green\/Cortez Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

At a film screening this week, more than 50 local residents learned that America continues to pay for failure instead of investing for success.<\/p>\n

An upcoming documentary series, \u201cThe Raising of America\u201d aims to serve as a public engagement campaign that explores how a strong start for all children can lead to a healthier, stronger and more equitable nation.<\/p>\n

Sponsored by the Montelores Early Childhood Council (MECC), the third episode in the series \u201cAre We Crazy About Our Kids?\u201d was screened at the Sunflower Theatre on Tuesday. Participating in an hourlong question-and-answer session afterward, a panel of six local child advocates agreed that they were most surprised that leaders from other countries \u2013 from Canada to China \u2013 had recognized a need to invest in early child services while America appears asleep at the wheel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt saddens me that we haven\u2019t done more,\u201d said Bobbi Lock, director of the Montezuma County Public Health Department.<\/p>\n

Examining the rate of return on investing in high-quality early care and education, the episode revealed to Montezuma County Public Health Department nurse Allison Duran that additional investment was needed locally.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor every dollar spent on prevention, the return is three-fold,\u201d said Duran.<\/p>\n

Four Corner Child Advocacy Center counselor Rachel Heberle agreed, citing studies that showed that early childhood investment could help reduce future crime rates by half and to higher paying jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvesting in children could trickle down for generations,\u201d said Heberle.<\/p>\n

Tentatively scheduled for broadcast on public television this fall, the series will reveal some horrifying statistics, said MECC coordinator Vangi McCoy. She was most disturbed to learn about the amount of trauma that so many children face. By investing early, she said, that stress could be mitigated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we have adults that are crazy about kids, then I know we could make a real difference,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

McCoy said it\u2019s easy to be a proponent for children because they were so cute, but she urged others to be mindful that children are also attached to an adult. To create real change, McCoy said it would require a two-generation approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also need to care about the parents,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019re really going to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

A licensed social worker and early childhood mental health specialist with Cortez Integrated Health System, Della Pope agreed, adding that adults should be more mindful and attuned to caring for all children in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can measure the health of our community through the welfare of our children,\u201d said Pope.<\/p>\n

Ute Mountain Ute education director Tanya Amarine encouraged parents to engage in educational opportunities to ensure their children received care, support and education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more you know the better you can advocate for what\u2019s right,\u201d she said. \u201cDon\u2019t quit learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amarine added that even those without children are affected when a child slips through the cracks, by paying taxes to jail them or hiring special education teachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese kids at some point are going to impact your life either directly or indirectly, and taking the time to foster their growth is pennies on the dollar,\u201d she said. \u201cAt some point, these kids are going to touch your life whether you know them or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

In coming weeks, MECC officials are hopeful that state and national lawmakers will accept invitations to attend a second community event when the signature hour of the documentary series is screened. The hope is legislators will better fund early child services.<\/p>\n

tbaker@cortezjournal.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advocates push for funding for early childhood services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[747,13,1351,337],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-112833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-children","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-public-finance","tag-television"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112833"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=112833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}