Sherry O’Toole, Invest in Kids supervisor for St. Clair County, speaks during a press conference at the Capitol in Springfield. (Photo contributed)

SPRINGFIELD - To deal more effectively with the opioid crisis, Lee County Sheriff John Simonton believes more effort should go into early childhood initiatives. As a member of the executive board of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids-Illinois, Simonton says there is a need for greater prevention-minded efforts.

To advance this cause, on April 18 Simonton traveled to Springfield with 10 law-enforcement colleagues, who are also members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids-Illinois. While there, the group met with a variety of legislators to promote the budget for this initiative. They also held a press conference on opioids and how the focus on young children would help to reduce crime at an early age.

This is an approach that has largely flown under the radar screen, but a new report from Fight Crime shows why it is important. Studies demonstrate that birth-to-3 programs that have a focus on “coaching” outreach to at-risk parents are effective at reducing what researchers call Adverse Childhood Experiences. These so-called “ACEs” include child abuse, neglect, and witnessing parental drug use. And multiple ACEs can greatly increase the likelihood of a youngster growing-up to abuse drugs, themselves.

The parental-coaching help offered by these voluntary home-visiting programs has been shown to help curb child abuse and neglect, as well as aid parents in dealing with their own drug-addiction problems and finding sobriety. These are invaluable additions in the fight against the debilitating opioid crisis. Yet these programs are too often overlooked and underappreciated.

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids-Illinois says the state’s recent budget impasse was not kind to home-visiting initiatives such as Healthy Families and Parents Too Soon. But this year, Illinois policymakers stabilized their funding. Now, they face the opportunity to do likewise in the state budget they are building for the next fiscal year – as well as strengthen the funding for a variety of other important, prevention-oriented supports for children and youth, ranging from preschool and child care to after-school programs.

The local Safe Passage Initiative – reflecting four main goals of prevention, education, enforcement, and treatment – is doing a great job in the fight against this crisis. Boosting early childhood services would add to these efforts and provide one more vital avenue for dealing with these challenges.