Tennessee Commission On Children & Youth Recommends State Focus On Health & Educational Service Expansion

On December 4, 2014, the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) recommended that the state expand access to health care and early education to ensure that children enter first grade developmentally ready to learn. The TCCY recommended that the state legislature accept federal Medicaid expansion funding, expand funding for voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten opportunities for all at-risk Tennessee children, expand funding for home visitation programs providing support to new parents, and develop strategies to prevent or reduce the effects of adverse childhood experiences that cause toxic stress.

After the TCCY released its report, two events occurred that . . .