A recent report called Achieving The American Dream, released by The Burghard Group, Montana ranks as the #1 state in which to live the “American Dream’.
To this, I say, Really?
If Montana is the #1 state in which to live the American Dream you may have a hard time convincing the children who live here.
KidsCount, a national non-partisan, non-profit just released some other rankings you should know:
Montana ranks #28 in overall child well-being. Perhaps you think that’s not too bad. That might even sound pretty good to you… just below the middle. But if I told you that we’ve looked at your child or grandchild and he or she ranks below average in well-being, how would you feel about that? I know it would bother me! I want my children to be at the top when it comes to well-being, don’t you? We should not be okay with Montana ranking below average.
But here’s a kicker… in that same report, Montana ranks dead last when it comes to child health! The worst in the nation in this broad category… for two years in a row!
Unacceptable!
There are other numbers we need to be aware of as well:
Montana has one of the highest rates of teen suicide in the nation; 20% of Montana’s children live below the poverty line.
We need to elevate the well-being of Montana’s children. When we do that, we will elevate the future of those children, and thus, elevate the future of this great state!
Martha Davis, CEO of the Institute For Safe Families in Philadelphia writes, “Once scientists learned that smoking changes the brain, making it very difficult to quit, we were able to devise treatments to help smokers change their behavior.
Today we are witnessing another health revolution that is just as far-reaching. It concerns the effects of mistreatment on the brains of young children. It will force us to rethink the way we deliver services - health care, education, and more - to our most vulnerable.”
Davis is speaking of The ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences Study). This scientific study directly links adverse childhood experiences to negative health and social outcomes in adulthood. It was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente. The implications are staggering, but the motivation for change is inspiring!
In 2011, Montana completed its own ACE Study, and the results are very disturbing.
Almost 30% of adults reported they had experienced abuse and other household dysfunctions, such as domestic violence, a family member with mental illness for example. 43% of adults in Montana have between 1 and 3 ACE’s, and 17% have 4 or more. That’s 60% of Montana’s adults have had adverse childhood experiences!
How can ACE’s affect our communities? People with high ACE scores may be much more likely to drop out of school or spend time in prison. Children exposed to traumatic events were more likely to develop mental and behavioral health problems like depression and addiction. They were also more likely to have physical illnesses like heart disease and diabetes, and even early death!
The Elevate Montana ACE Study Summit
This month, ChildWise Institute is hosting the first statewide summit of professionals who are using the biology of stress and the research on adverse childhood experiences in their fields and communities. Who are these professionals? They are social workers, police departments, educators, doctors, nurses, legislators, judges, childcare workers.
Before the science on addiction was developed, we blamed smoking on bad choices. Before the research on adverse childhood experiences, it was just as common to blame bad choices for many health and social problems.
Now we know that these health problems are caused by early life experiences that affect the development of brains and therefore bodies. Spreading that knowledge is the first step toward improving health and saving lives.
Elevate Montana: ACE Study Summit is intended to inform, inspire, and motivate community and state leaders toward actions that will reduce adverse childhood experiences in children so they may become healthier adults, which will result in a healthier Montana.
Perhaps we may one day be a state in which living the American Dream is possible … even for its children.
Todd Garrison is the executive director of ChildWise Institute
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