Released September 22, 2009
URBANA, Ill. — The Family Resiliency Center and The Pampered Chef Programs at the University of Illinois will host the Illinois Summit on Early Childhood and Healthy Beginnings on Friday, Oct. 16, at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Avenue, Urbana.
The conference will serve as a "call to action" on key policies and issues facing early childhood educators and child care providers in promoting healthy development during the preschool years.
"It is imperative that we find a way to protect the children and vulnerable families in our state during these challenging economic times. Early childhood programs have proven to be some of the best investments with the biggest payoffs," said Barbara Fiese, director of the Family Resiliency Center.
The cost to attend the summit is $50 with the deadline for registration Friday, October 9. Online registration and additional information are available at http://www.frc.illinois.edu/Summit or by calling (217) 265-0334.
Keynote speakers include Barbara T. Bowman, Chief Officer of Early Childhood Education for Chicago Public Schools; Professor Arthur J. Reynolds, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota; and Marlene B. Schwartz, Deputy Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.
Jerome Stermer, Chief of Staff to Governor Pat Quinn, is slated to give welcoming remarks.
The Family Resiliency Center is dedicated to advancing knowledge and practices that strengthen families' abilities to meet life's challenges and thrive through research, outreach, and education. The Center was established in 2006 in the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Illinois Summit on Early Childhood and Healthy Beginnings, http://frc.illinois.edu/Summit/
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http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news4901.html
Source: Diane Marlin, (217) 265-0334, dmarlin@illinois.edu
Writer: Phyllis Picklesimer, 217-244-2827, p-pickle@uiuc.edu
