Institute for Child Success holds Early Childhood Research Symposium in Greenville

GREENVILLE, SC – On October 15th and 16th, here in Greenville at the Westin Hotel, a gathering of various PhDs, researchers and healthcare leaders will be all pulled together for one purpose – to strive and create a system in South Carolina that ensures the overall wellbeing of our youngest residents.

The Institute for Child Success (ICS) is a research and policy organization that fosters public and private partnerships to align and improve resources for the success of young children in South Carolina. In other words, ICS helps those who help children.

Yes, ICS focuses on helping those who help children succeed. The organization supports service providers and advocates focused on early childhood development, healthcare, and education – all to coordinate, enhance and improve those efforts for the maximum result in the lives of young people.

ICS’s vision is a sustainable system that ensures the success of all children, pre-natal through age five. The organization recognizes that the most effective way to improve the success of children isn’t one child at a time – but by improving the systems that foster the health and education of our children.

And with that in mind, ICS is hosting the Early Childhood Research Symposium on October 15th and 16th at the Westin Poinsett Hotel. Some of the presentations include:

• The Genetics of Intellectual Disability, Autism, and Epilepsy
• Developmental Screening in South Carolina, and Measuring Language
• Literacy Readiness in Pre-kindergarteners and Kindergartners in South Carolina

The Featured Keynote Speaker is Megan Smith, DrPH, Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine, and the deputy director of the Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers at the Yale School of Medicine. Smith is also a former recipient of a Building Interdisciplinary Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) career award from the National Institute of Health.

Smith’s keynote address is entitled “Improving Mental health and Development Across Generations: The MOMS Partnership”. The MOMS Partnership is a community-wide initiative to promote good mental health of families and has garnered nation recognition for its innovative multi-generational approach to family wellness. Smith is the founder and director of the organization.

Dr. Janice Gruendel, PhD is a senior fellow with ICS and will conclude the symposium with “Reflections on the Symposium: What We Know and What We Must Use to Improve Early Childhood Policy and Practice”.

Gruendel has served within the administration of five state governors, has experience working in the non-profit advocacy sector and as a private business owner directly working with children and their families. Dr. Gruendel received her Ph.D. from Yale University in Developmental Psychology, and she holds a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. Gruendel is a member of the Harvard Center on the Developing Child’s Frontiers of Innovation Initiative. She is also a member of the National Governors Association, Center for the Study of Social Policy, and the MOMS Partnership at Yale University.

Keynote and presenting sponsors for the ICS Early Childhood Research Symposium include: Greenville Health System, Greenville County First Steps, South Carolina Department of Education and South Carolina Education Oversight Committee