Heartland Child Policy Forum

Mark Your Calendar for the first Heartland Child Policy Forum

The Child and Family Policy Center is convening the first “Heartland Child Policy Forum” to highlight the current status of the Midwest’s youngest children and the need for policy makers at federal and state levels to address their needs.

The forum will feature a keynote address by Michael Burke, vice president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, an Omaha-based organization dedicated to promoting evidenced-base public and private investments in young children. Mr. Burke is a communications expert in conveying research to policy makers and opinion leaders.

In addition, Des Moines Register editor Carol Hunter will moderate a panel of policy makers and advocates who will discuss President Obama’s proposal to invest $10 billion annually in preschool and early-childhood programs and the current level of attention to young children in the country’s political dialogue.

The forum is a kick-off of a gathering of child advocacy leaders from the Heartland states—Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin—who are active at their state capitols in advancing early-childhood agendas.

The event is sponsored by the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, a group of national and regional foundations committed to increasing effective investments to ensure all children start school healthy and prepared for success.

The forum is free, but pre-registration at www.cfpciowa.org is requested.