Infant and Early Childhood Awareness & Action Day - Transforming Wisconsin’s Policies to Support Infants, Young Children and Families

Kimberly, WI, April 11, 2015 --(PR.com)-- The Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) Project and other partners are hosting an Infant and Early Childhood Awareness and Action Day. The event will be held on April 17, 2015, from 7:30am – 4:30pm at the Lussier Family Heritage Center, 3101 Lake Farm Road, Madison, WI 53711. There is no cost for the event, and registration is open to all online at http://conta.cc/1IwFOh3.

The goal of the meeting will be to identify infant, toddler and family policy priorities and secure a commitment to action from attendees. The day’s session will enable attendees to improve professional development, intervention strategies and pursue adequate financing and reimbursement for initiatives that bolster physical and social emotional development during the critical first 1,000 days of life.

The Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (WIAAP.org) President Jeff Britton, MD, FAAP, said, “Children’s physical and emotional well-being is largely shaped during the earliest period in their lives.” He added, “Not only do we need to enrich their development, but we also need to safeguard them against adverse experiences, that we know will have lifelong physical and mental health consequences.”

Facilitating the day’s events will be Amy Murphy, MPH, a public health consultant providing training and technical assistance to a variety of maternal child health initiatives, including healthy homes, child health home visiting and infant mortality reduction.

Julie Larrieu, PhD will give the plenary address, “Mitigating the Impact of Toxic Stress and Trauma Through Healthy Social Emotional Development.” Dr. Larrieu is a developmental and clinical psychologist at the Tulane University School of Medicine, and a senior trainer at the Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

Comprising nearly 1,000 members and a part of the American Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.aap.org) WIAAP works to assure optimal health and safety for Wisconsin’s children and their families through advocacy and collaboration with child interest groups. WIAAP supports Wisconsin pediatricians, enabling them to continue to be the most effective providers of health care to children. The American Academy of Pediatrics is committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.