The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #37733

Andrew Bulla, BS, MBA, MS, Bureau of Family Health, Pennsylvania Department of Health, PO Box 90, Room 724 Health & Welfare Building, Harrisburg, PA 17108, (717) 787-7192, abulla@state.pa.us

On October 1, 2001, in one of his last acts as Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge and First Lady Michele Ridge joined actor/director Rob Reiner to launch an unprecedented statewide early childhood development program to raise public awareness and educate parents and people who care for young children about the importance of the early years of a child’s life. Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to undertake a comprehensive approach to the "I Am Your Child" campaign. This initiative stresses that children develop most dramatically during the prenatal stage to five years of age, and what parents and caregivers do during those early years makes a profound difference in a child’s healthy development and later success in school. The Pennsylvania “I Am Your Child (IAYC)” Campaign will assist thousands of Pennsylvania families guide by providing them with a comprehensive set of research-based educational resources so parents know where to go, what to do and how to cope with a child’s early years. The campaign includes a series of six videos, a children’s book and a resource guide for families. These early childhood development resources were developed by the national "I Am Your Child" Foundation, in conjunction with Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Agencies, and provide families with key messages and examples of things they can do to help create a healthy, safe and nurturing environment during their children’s critical early years incorporating discoveries in the process of brain development.

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