JCFS Chicago to Host Early Childhood Development Symposium

Chicago, IL, — JCFS Chicago will bring together experts in the field of childhood development service delivery to discuss current challenges and potential innovative ways forward at its first annual symposium: Early Childhood Development: Charting A Path Forward, on Tuesday, May 14 at the Abe and Ida Cooper Center, 6639 N. Kedzie Ave, Chicago.

“We know there are challenges to families accessing and providers remaining in the State of Illinois’ early childhood services,” said Jennie Marble, JCFS Chicago’s Director of Integrated Pediatric Therapies. “We also know there are many intelligent and motivated people working to overcome these challenges long term. The purpose of this symposium is to find ways individuals can work better and smarter in the system as it presents today.”

“We are bringing together a multidisciplinary group, many of whom have likely never had the opportunity to be in the same room together,” Marble added. “They work across many different settings and with different populations, but the common thread is that we are all serving children and their families between birth and five years old. We hope attendees will take the innovative ideas gathered at the symposium and distribute them to their networks.”

The one-day symposium will include remarks from:

• Allie Lowe-Fotos, MSW, LCSW, Senior Policy Manager, Start Early
• Megan Roberts, PhD, CCC-SLP, Principal Investigator, Northwestern Early Intervention Research Group
• Sarah Martinez, MA, Med, Senior Instructor, Erikson Institute
• Beth Pettinelli, LCSW, I ECMHC, Clinical Social Worker/Therapist, Wellsprings Health

The rest of the day will be devoted to collaborative breakouts.

“The importance of this sharing and collaboration cannot be understated,” said Marlies Gramann, JCFS’s Associate Vice President of Services for People with Disabilities. “We MUST continue to find new and more effective ways to strengthen families of young children to prevent the longer-term problems and costs associated with unresolved emotional and developmental challenges.”

JCFS Chicago employs leading experts in mental health, disability services, early childhood development, immigration and refugee services and career training.

For more information, please contact Pam Austin, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at 312.519.6940 or PamAustin@JCFS.org.

Please note that attendance for this symposium is by invitation only.