Sheridan Hartig and Sam Godby
37 minutes ago
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Leaders from around central Illinois joined the discussion Wednesday morning around early childhood development and its importance in later learning, career and life success.
According to a report from the Council for a Strong America, social-emotional skills in early childhood are essential to a child's development.
However, statistics show that only 3 in 10 new kindergarteners are ready for that level of education, and nearly 58% of new kindergarteners are socially-emotionally ready. It has been.
Local leaders hope to change those numbers with improved state and federal policies.
“People with strong social-emotional skills are less likely to end up with law enforcement later in life and less likely to end up in juvenile detention,” Peoria County State's Attorney Jody Foos said.
She continued, “One of the best ways to combat crime and violence in our communities starts with our youth. Strong early childhood programs not only get kids on the right track, but keep them there. It's also important for retention. We can help kids make better decisions from the beginning.”
Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria also spoke out about early intervention.
“One of the elements that is often overlooked is the victims who are participating in this. We keep talking about suspects and criminals. But when someone commits a crime, they are traumatized. We know there are victims and there are potential future criminals,” Echevarria said.
He continued, “So we want to be able to reach them early. We want to be able to not only treat the offender, but provide resources to the victim as well.” Ta.
To strengthen children's social and emotional skills, city leaders are asking policymakers to provide support to teachers and parents when children experience difficult or disruptive behavior. It implores them to invest in programs such as “infant and early childhood mental health counseling.”
