Needs Ascertainment Findings

Primarily a reactive system built on a rescue model

   Lots of parenting education / little community organizing Lots of family supports / little tackling of oppty structures Lots of targeted services / little targeting of structural racism, economic & power arrangements Many programs are silo-ed, underfunded and overwhelmed

Lack a high - visibility conceptual framework

A Documentary Series and Public Engagement Campaign

Linking Early Child Health and Development to a Healthier, More Prosperous and More Equitable America

Major Funding

W.K. Kellogg Foundation The California Endowment U.S. Centers for Disease Control

Additional Funding

Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN Foundation

Strong Children

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Strong Communities

Change the Conversation

A tool toward making a nurturing child ecology the birthright of every infant in the United States

• • • • • Widen the locus of public debate Make differential opportunity structures visible About ‘us’ not ‘them’ Incite passion and impel urgency Communicate possibility; envision a truly child and family friendly nation

The Raising of America

For National PBS Broadcast and Video Release | 2014

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A 6-part Documentary Series

How a strong start for all our kids leads not only to better individual outcomes, but also a healthier, safer, more prosperous and equitable nation.

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A Companion Website

With interactives, discussion guides, action toolkits, video clips and other resources 

A National Public Engagement Campaign

To reframe the debate about what we as a society can—and should—do to ensure every infant a strong start.

THE DOCUMENTARY SERIES

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Opening 60 min. episode:

THE RAISING OF AMERICA

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Plus five 30 min. companion episodes:

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DNA IS NOT DESTINY:

How the Outside Gets Under the Skin

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OUR WE CRAZY ABOUT OUR KIDS?

The Cost/Benefit Equation

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WOUNDED PLACES:

Confronting Childhood PTSD in America’s Shell-shocked Cities

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ONCE UPON A TIME:

When Childcare for All Wasn’t Just a Fairytale

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STRESSING OUT THE POOR?

Building Community Resilience

Widening the Lens Old Model The Emerging Story

        Babies don’t ‘remember’ Genes are us Pre-natal care Parents make ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ choices Impairment (‘bad’ kids) Poverty reflects a population deficit or ‘lack’ Race Nothing we can do         The outside gets under the skin What surrounds us shapes us Life-course approach Adversity and the squeeze on parents (Mal)adaptation (Injured kids) Poverty and inequality reflect exploitation Racism / racialization Shared fates; smart investments bring individual and societal benefits

Widening the Lens

The larger social ecology of human development

If early experiences and environments literally shape the architecture of the developing brain, then…  What shapes those environments?

 And why are they so patterned by class and race?

THE RAISING OF AMERICA What is a ‘Rough Cut?

   Some scenes still to be filmed Writing and editing still awkward Pacing – too fast or slow    Narrator is temporary Music is temporary No sound mix   Graphics / animation placeholders Missing scenes!

The Public Engagement Campaign

The Campaign will help educators, providers, advocates, organizers, public officials and community members use the documentary series and online tools to build the groundwork for bold and transformative childhood policy and systems changes needed to provide all our infants a strong start.

Using vs. Watching

    Advance dialogue within child health and development circles Spotlight promising practices, innovative projects and progressive initiatives Build cross-sectoral alliances with stakeholders from other sectors (e.g. racial justice, business, the religious community, affordable housing and community development, corrections, regional equity, etc.) Engage elected officials and the policy community.

200+ Campaign Partners

 Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs  California State Libraries  Center for the Study of Social Policy  Children’s Hospital Associations  National Association of CCHealth Officials  National Healthy Start Association

Campaign Timeline

 Work-in-progress screenings (March – Aug)  Sneak Preview Launch Events (Sept – Nov)  PBS Broadcast & Twitter Launch Party (Oct/Nov)  Screening events (November onward)   Internally; Workshops; Conferences Dialogue and mobilize partners and allies    Build new alliances Town hall meetings & Public events Media engagement

Official Companion Website

  Video clips Discover  What do babies remember?

  The squeeze on parents and caregivers Why, when we know so much, do we do so little?

   Discussion Guides Interactives Action Toolkit   Connect Up! database Downloadable resources

The success of The Raising of America will ultimately be measured by how effectively it can be used to intervene in public debate and advance the efforts of organizations that have long worked to tackle inequities and benefit all children in the U.S.

How can your foundation use the series?

Produced by: California Newsreel with Vital Pictures Video Release and PBS Broadcast: 2014

www.RaisingofAmerica.org

www.facebook.com/raisingofamerica

Larry Adelman

Project Director & Executive Producer [email protected]

Rachel Poulain, MPH

Director of Public Engagement & Associate Producer [email protected]

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EXTRA SLIDES FROM BRAINTRUST PRESENTATION

THE OPENING HOUR-LONG SHOW: Widening the Lens

   The outside gets under the skin What surrounds us shapes us Life-course approach   Adversity and the squeeze on Parents Adaptation narrative   Poverty and inequality reflects exploitation Shared fates; smart investments bring individual and societal benefits

GETTING STARTED www.raisingofamerica.org

The Raising of America

“Evidence is rarely if ever sufficient by itself to catalyze political action. “In political terms, what might be at least as crucial as the evidence itself is the ‘story’ in which it is embedded.”

- World Health Organization’s (WHO) Commission on the Social Determinants of Health