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Decade of the Child

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An Action Plan to Improve the

Health and Wellbeing of Our Nation's Children

Americans care about the nation’s nearly 74 million children and youth. They also recognize the urgent need to address the challenges children face to their healthy development and wellbeing.

Yet, despite our collective commitment to children and vast array of available health and educational resources for children and families, statistics reflecting the state of the health and wellbeing of children and youth are sobering. Nearly two-thirds of America’s children and youth experience physical, mental, and/or social health problems and risks that threaten their daily functioning, development, and lifelong health. Fewer than half of our young children are ready for school, less than one-third of fourth graders are proficient in reading, nearly half of youth report feeling hopeless about their future, and firearm-related violence, suicides, and accidents are now the number one killer of children.

These problems are not new. The U.S. has persistently ranked at the bottom of developed countries across many measures of child wellbeing, as well as high rates of infant mortality, mental and physical illnesses, obesity, asthma, unmet needs for healthy food, and unsafe environments.

Nationwide Prevalence of Children Meeting “Whole Child Risk Index” Criteria: 64.5% Range Across States: 55.4%-69.8%

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Figure 1: State Specific Prevalence of US Children Age 0-17 Years Who Experience One or More Complex Physical, Mental, Development or Social Health Conditions and/or Risks. Data source: 2022-2023 National Survey of Children’s Health

Citation: Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. Analysis of the 2022-2023 National Survey of Children’s Health using the validated Whole Child Risk Index assessing prevalence of evidence-based conditions and risks impacting early and lifelong flourishing.

These troubling trends diminish our greatness as a nation – a nation that is inescapably dependent upon the wellbeing, resilience, creativity, and positive engagement of our children and the adults they will become.

Opportunities for Transformational Change

The good news is that we already know what children need to thrive and, fortunately, solutions are at hand. Decades of scientific research have informed sound recommendations for advancing evidence-based policies and practices that promote health and prevent many of the problems children and youth currently experience. Solutions require transformational change in how we think about and invest in strategies that work by building strong families and communities capable of supporting the many vital needs children enter the world with—such as physical growth, meeting developmental milestones, quality childcare and education, and healthy relationships with supportive adults— known as “whole child health.”

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We need unprecedented mobilization in the form of a well-coordinated national strategy across all sectors in society to prioritize the health and wellbeing of every child in America. The Decade of the Child calls for that transformational change our children need by comprehensively supporting our families and communities through collaborations across all sectors of society:

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Leading Role for Public Health

Whole child health and wellbeing deserve to be top priorities of our public health system and across all agencies that intersect with public health. We need investments in creating nurturing, toxin-free environments for children, as well as community-based interventions, parenting support programs, expanded mental health services, and solutions to unmet needs for healthy nutrition, affordable housing, safe and supportive communities, and protections against climate crisis-related trauma.

Scientists Collaborating in Laboratory

Economic Resilience for Families

Businesses and governments that recognize the critical importance of fostering family resilience and wellbeing are able to create stable and nurturing environments for raising children. This requires adopting family-friendly policies—paid leave, living wages, childcare, access to mental health supports and more. These investments will pay off in a healthy workforce, now and going forward.

Doctor examining baby

Health Care Transformation

Collaborations among health care systems, services, and providers with public health would enable us to focus on the whole child and their wellbeing, rather than solely on the physical health problem they present with. We need to organize, incentivize and finance health care to leverage existing evidence and ensure the implementation of comprehensive preventative and developmental child health care approaches to effectively promote health, prevent, treat, and manage disease, and facilitate child resilience and flourishing.

Mother and Daughter Love

Child Welfare Systems Transformation

“With greater knowledge about what works best to keep children safe, strengthen families and address the lifelong impact of trauma, leaders in government, business, nonprofits, philanthropy and communities are thinking, planning and acting in ways that can help transform our approach to child protection into a true system of child and family well-being” (Casey Family Programs 2019).

Diverse Kindergarten

Empowering Education

Schools empowered to recognize and promote the mental and social wellbeing of children and provide environments and the tools that meet the diverse needs of the developing child will lead to significant improvements in child outcomes. Evidence-based teaching practices, sufficient support for teachers, expanded access to quality preschool, and tutoring for struggling students are needed. The academic success of our children is imperative for their success as adults, as well as for the health of their community and our overall society.

PR Office

Research to Advance Whole Child Health and Wellbeing

A research agenda across NIH institutes and other funding agencies is needed that focuses on building evidence and supporting the effective implementation and scaling of approaches to promote the health and flourishing of children, as well as to prevent illnesses and health conditions related to the family and community environments in which they live. This research is needed to shift to public health and health care strategies that address the broader contexts in which children live and factors contributing to problems like mental health disorders, obesity, asthma, substance use and violence. This research should also tackle root causes such as childhood adversity and lack of nurturance, unmet needs and poor access to resources and unsafe or toxic environments.

Smiling Baby

A Vision for the Future

Imagine an America where, in ten years, all young children are ready for school and youth flourish and look forward to a positive future.  In this future, the nation’s far too high levels of low birth weight and infant mortality dramatically drop. Families and communities receive the support they need to prevent the health and social conditions related to our persistently elevated rates of obesity, asthma, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other problems. All children will have access to healthy food, housing, quality health care and educational opportunities. All parents and child care workers will have the information and tools they need to nurture children and prevent child abuse and neglect. Gun violence no longer threatens our children. And every school is a place of learning, compassionate support, and opportunity.

Communities will have established sustainable partnerships that support child flourishing and a sense of belonging for all children, youth, and families. Family-friendly workplace policies are the norm, And businesses are thriving as they invest in the wellbeing of families, ensuring a generation of well-educated, healthy, productive workers. 

If the Decade of the Child becomes part of the congressional policy agenda, a true transformation in this country will be felt for generations to come. Congressional and state legislators will mobilize to elevate this issue area in their policy portfolios, and the public will embrace a much-needed strategy that prioritizes the health and social security of our children.

 

Living by the principles outlined by the Decade of the Child initiative ensures that these principles are realized through proven practices, programs, and policies. Importantly, they are considerably more effective than reacting to problems after they have escalated and become entrenched. There are no better ways to increase government efficiency while improving lives.

Proclaiming the Decade of the Child

We call on policymakers to proclaim the next ten years the Decade of the Child  a national strategy to refocus public policies and systems on whole child health and wellbeing.

 

This initiative will drive transformative change for our children by incentivizing a program of research that equips policymakers, practitioners, and communities with a roadmap toward this end, just as the Decade of the Brain in the 1990's led to groundbreaking advancements.

Hands Up

Join Us in Making the Decade of the Child a Reality

Strident support for the Decade of the Child will unite the nation around the vision of our children's future as our top priority. We’re calling on legislators, agency officials, research funders, health care providers, educators, business leaders, and community advocates to come together and make this vision a reality.

 

By acting now, we can then ensure every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential. This is the future our children deserve.

Decade of The Child: The Next Vital Step for Intergenerational Health & Prosperity

Diana Fishbein | December 2024 Nova Annual Conference

We Are the Medicine: Collective Healing and Promoting Flourishing amid Adversity

Christina Bethell | December 2024 Nova Annual Conference

is the turning point. Let's seize this moment.

Decade of the Child

 Show your support for this effort to declare the

Decade of the Child.

You and Your Organization Can Make This Happen!

Endorse the Call for the Decade of the Child

The Decade of the Child is led by Diana Fishbein, PhD (National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Penn State University) and Christina Bethell, PhD (Child and Adolescent Measurement Initiative, Johns Hopkins University)

 

Our core team includes: Zili Sloboda, ScD (Applied Prevention Science International); Charles Bruner (Integrated Care for Kids/InCK Marks Initiative and the Child Health Equity Leadership Team); Anthony Biglan, PhD (Values to Action and Oregon Research Institute); Ronald Prinz, PhD (Research Center for Child Well-Being, University of South Carolina); William Wieczorek, PhD (Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation); Jesse Kohler (Change Campaign and the Campaign for Trauma Informed Policy and Practice); John Roman, PhD (NORC University of Chicago and the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives; and Jessica Stavig, Executive Director (National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives).

For more information, contact us at: decadeofthechild@gmail.com

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Funding for this effort is provided by the NOVA Institute for Health

Organizational Endorsements (updated February 13th)

  1. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE)

  2. Applied Prevention Science International

  3. Integrated Care for Kids/InCK Marks Network

  4. HEDCO Institute for Evidence-Based Educational Practice

  5. Association for Positive Behavior Support (APBS)

  6. itotheN | Intergenerational Impact

  7. Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina

  8. Institute for Research and Development "Utrip"

  9. Partnership to End Addiction

  10. Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development

  11. Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice

  12. Center for Whole Health Learning in K-12

  13. Association For Behavior Analysis International

  14. Nova Institute for Health

  15. Global Alliance for Behavioral Health & Social Justice

  16. PACEs Connection

  17. Society of Behavioral Medicine

  18. Advancing Parenting

  19. The Larry A. Green Center for the Advancement of Primary Health Care for the Public Good

  20. Brain Insights

  21. Educate Tomorrow's Parents

  22. Achieve Greatness

  23. Safe Kids Now National Network

  24. Kros Learning Group

  25. Research Institute for Key Indicators Data Lab

  26. Communities for Youth

  27. The Multidisciplinary Center on Childhood, Public Policy & Sustainable Society

  28. Just Learning Systems

  29. Association of Children's Museums

  30. Wellbeing Action for Youth

  31. ​RISE Institute

  32. Prevention Research Center, Penn State University

  33. Early Emotional Development Program Washingon University School of Medicine

  34. Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington

  35. Center for MH in Schools & Student/Learning Supports

  36. Society for Prevention Research

  37. Family Centered Treatment Foundation

  38. The Robin Foundation

  39. Growth UP Education, LLC

  40. The Faithful City

  41. National Parenting Education Network

  42. Southern Christian Services for Children and Youth, Inc.

  43. Anago Consulting Inc

  44. Trauma Informed Oregon

  45. InsightFormation, Inc.

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