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Show Sunday, October 1 1, DAILY 2009 HERALD AS Officials search for cure to youth violence Benefit wait is 3 years' if health care passes Deborah L Shelton and Stephanie Banchero CHICAGO Ricardq TRIBUNE THE CHICAGO Every year scores of Chicago children shot, knifed and beaten jrethe city streets. Almost fon jas frequently, new policing strategies are rolled out, programs launched !and private and public money WASHINGTON And researchers and experts Jsay the cure lies not in this haphazard treatment of the Symptoms but in more targeted, scientific treatment of middle-incom- e households won't start flowing until 2013 after the next presidential Jthe causes. Researchers and experts Jare coalescing around the idea that violence should not be jseen solely as episodic criminal behavior. Instead, they argue, ABEL URIBEChtcagp Tribune 'it should be seen as a public Tasha Anderson center holds her twins Destiny left and Deajah Medietas she bids farewell health issue and treated like other diseases, a method that to the staff of a center that helps mothers become better parents on Tuesday in Chicago. . Scombated other seemly intractable problems like tuberculo-si- s medicine." Chicago's continuing struggle to combat youth violence Sixty Americans. They'll have to wait another three if President Barack Obama gets a bill to sign this year. Under the Democratic bills, federal tax credits to help make health insurance affordable for millions of low- - and at the problem. But youth violence acts like a disease, an epidemic really. outbreaks and smoking. That approach sounds promising but its success, Researchers say, is dependent kmi something that Chicago and the nation lacks: rigorous evaluation of which programs Svork and which ones waste ,"time and money. "Despite all the money and all the pilot programs that have been started, we are floundering around," said Jens Ludwig, a criminologist and head of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, which is evaluating programs. "We should do more of what they do in HHtSS years is how long Democrats say they've been pushing for legislation that provides health care access for all thrown ; Alonso-Zaldiv- ASSOCtAUD Development of regions of the brain that regulate emotion and parts of the limbic system which triggers the fight, flight or freeze response are critical for control of aggression. Research suggests violence in childhood can affect the brain, leading to difficulties in behavioral control, said Dr. Darren Gitelman, associate professor of neurology and radiology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Because children raised in violence tend to be more violent adults, experts point to parenting classes as one way to help break that cycle. Extensive research from one national study found that children of mothers in parenting programs had an arrest rate 60 percent lower than their peers. "Through these classes we help parents gain self confidence and provide them the skills they need so they can raise children who are less prone to using violence as a solution to a problem," said Kevin Limbeck, director of Family Focus, a community organization that runs parenting classes. Many others point to quality early childhood education as crucial, and President Barack Obama made it a central premise of his presidential platform and has promised to pump millions into evidence-base- d The National Institutes of Health considers the nation's reading problem so pernicious, researchers there have labeled it a major threat to public health. As children age, the time between middle school and 11th grade can be a turning point. Psychiatrists and criminologists say this is when kids begin to feel most disconnected. While experts and researchers debate what works, community activists press on in their quest to make a Massie Milton, director of the Agape Community Center, knows better than most the n damage violence inflicts. Albert, 16, from Fenger, was beaten to death next door to the center. Milton cried and prayed, but the next morning he opened Agape's doors. "Initially, you feel stunned and overwhelmed by it all," he Der-rio- said. "But then you start moving back from it. You keep saying to yourself, 'I am making a difference,' whether I see the results now or in 30 years." election. But Medicare cuts and a sizable chunk of the tax increases to pay for the overhaul kick in immediately. The approach is causing heartburn for some Democrats. Three years is a long time to wait for dessert, and opponents could capitalize on misgivings about the com- plex legislation to undo what would be a signature achievement for Obama. "The real danger is that health reform could be vulnerable to what we see with the stimulus package," said Democratic health policy consultant Peter Harbage, referring to criticism that Obama's $787 billion economic plan hasn't stemmed rising unem- ployment. "There needs to be more focus on what can you do quickly so that real people will start seeing change soon Mon-Fri10am-6- over the years has sparked everything from gang interventions to an ambitious plan in Chicago schools to pair troubled youths with intensive mentoring and even jobs. The latest spasm of violence, a fatal melee among Fenger High School students brought federal education and law enforcement officials to Chicago last week. Whatever approach is tried next not only will have to incorporate the methods of scientific research but also the lessons of science itself. Emerging research in brain development and human behavior provides a better understanding of what causes youth violence and offers hope that programs. evidence-base- d interventions "Experience in responsive, eventually can change destruc- predictable environments tive behaviors. . early in life literally helps the brain develop skills of Many researchers, psysaid Diana chiatrists and others say these interventions should come Rauner, executive director of during critical stages in human the Ounce of Prevention Fund, an advocacy organization for development, such as early childhood, if they are to make development a difference. programs. "There is no question that if Striking empirical evidence we intervene early by identify- from the Perry Preschool exing developmental, medical periment in Michigan showed and behavioral problems and large differences between the arrest rates of students in the put in services, it would be intensive preschool effort and said Dr. Jill so Glick, medical director of child a control group not in the program. Some have estimated protective services at University of Chicago Medical Center. that the preschool program "If we invest in our children generated $13 in benefits for every $ 1 spent, with most of early on, long term it will pay the savings due to reduction in off." We begin losing children the the criminal behavior of boys. Quality early childhood inday they are born. terventions are key, but the While it once was believed third- - and fourth-grad- e that people are born pacifists years also are a critical stage. and learn violent behavior, research suggests otherwise. Experts say a child who cannot read proficiently by the Scientists say regions of the end of third grade is destined brain involved in impulse control, judgment, aggression and to a lifetime of educational failures and, research shows, is emotional regulation are not more likely to end up in prison. fully developed until the 20s. j high-qualit- y s ww I er, rather than luter." Said Judy Feder, a senior health official in President Bill Clinton's administration: "Just as we are fending off ideological attacks to get the bill passed, we will be fending them off as we implement the law." Obama administration officials and Democratic law- makers say the reason for wait is the time the three-yea- r it's going to take to set up insurance marketplaces, write consumer protection rules and reconfigure the bureaucracy to carry out the legislation. It took President George W. Bush's administration two years to phase in the Medicare prescription benefit, a more modest undertaking. "It's very important to get the execution right," White House budget director Peter Orszag told The Associated Press in a recent interview. There's another reason, less talked about: to make the costs of the plan seem more manageable under congressional budgeting rules. Lawmakers use a accounting window to assess new programs. Starting the Medicare cuts and some of the taxes in the early years and pushing the bulk of new spending into the latter helps keep the cost years of the health care overhaul withiri Obama's $900 billion limit. Bush used the same kind of maneuver to push the Medicare benefit through Congress. pm Sat9am-5p- m 268 West Center Street WW 374-552- 0 vJZ A www.atfi sta.net early-childho- ," REPLACEMENT WINDOWS & DOORS Stimulus Sale 25 Off 30 TAX CRE ML (Manufacturer's List Price) MAXIMUM ENERGY EFFICIENCY! 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