"The greatest threat to our national security comes from no foreign enemy but from our own failure to invest in healthy and educated children."

--Marian Wright Edelman

It is somewhat surreal to watch what is happening in Crimea, on the heels of a fairly uneventful Olympics hosted by Russia. How the world could so quickly go from one to the other is mind-boggling. As a pediatrician in the Puget Sound area, I have cared for many children in Russian and Ukrainian families. Stresses are surfacing locally now, as they watch what is happening in their homelands. Combine this with the long search for the missing Malaysian airliner, built by Boeing, and it becomes clear just how complicated foreign policy and diplomacy can be. These two examples demonstrate how things happening around the world are closely connected with things right here in Washington. And they both remind us how people in all cultures care deeply about many of the same things--particularly the well-being of those they love.

At the same time, the evidence is unequivocal that what we do--or don't do--to invest in our children has significant ramifications for our future, and that of the world. So I love that Marian Wright Edelman puts what should be obvious--but often is not--right in front of us. We must invest in healthy and educated children, everywhere.

The good news is that there is some progress. There is growing attention, and incremental increases in investment, to address the needs of young children at the state and national levels. We are pleased to have secured a little more funding for Reach Out and Read in Washington's state budget. We are also happy to share with you some awards and celebrations. It's always important to celebrate success along the way; progress in complicated issues takes time and energy. But we must also quickly roll up our sleeves and keep moving forward. Current outcomes for children in Washington clearly tell us that we have a long way to go, and children need action now!

Jill Sells, MD and the Reach Out and Read Washington Team

STATE LEGISLATURE SUPPORTS REACH OUT AND READ 

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ABOUT REACH OUT AND READ WASHINGTON STATE

Reach Out and Read helps prepare children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. Our evidence-based proven program leverages the influence of children's doctors and makes literacy a standard part of well-child checkups from ages 6 months through 5 years. Reach Out and Read supports parents as their child's first teacher and helps children be ready for kindergarten. 

Through 165 programs in 31 counties, 1,400 medical providers serve an estimated 94,000 children and their families across Washington. Reach Out and Read Washington State is a Regional Office of Reach Out and Read, Inc., a national not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization.