He thinks early childhood intervention and social care is a "dirty secret" in the reform bill. Here's Arkansas Tonight editor Cris Seligman's take on the matter.
All around genius Chuck Norris did it again (and Arkansas Republicans gladly spread it around.) He's proven why he's such a great performer, but would be a disaster as a politican or public policy wonk. This time he's decided to take a whack at early childhood development and home visits by social workers covered in the healthcare reform bill. He calls it "dirty secret number 1."
The bill says that the government agents, "well-trained and competent staff," would "provide parents with knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains ... modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices," and "skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development."
Are you kidding me?! With whose parental principles and values? Their own? Certain experts'? From what field and theory of childhood development? As if there are one-size-fits-all parenting techniques! Do we really believe they would contextualize and personalize every form of parenting in their education, or would they merely universally indoctrinate with their own?
Does Mr. Norris know he should take some time to look at the laws and regulations of his own state of Texas before opening his mouth wide enough to deliver a kung-fu kick to his own tonsils? He doesn't seem to realize that these services exist already in every state in America, and have for years. State social workers make home visits regularly. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics -
Child, family, and school social workers provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the well-being of families and the academic functioning of children. They may assist single parents, arrange adoptions, or help find foster homes for neglected, abandoned, or abused children. Some specialize in services for senior citizens. These social workers may run support groups for the children of aging parents; advise elderly people or family members about housing, transportation, long-term care, and other services; and coordinate and monitor these services. Through employee assistance programs, social workers may help people cope with job-related pressures or with personal problems that affect the quality of their work.
Yeah, that includes counseling parents expecting and with small children. So what about that has Mr. Norris so very upset? And, moreover, why is he complaining now about "which field and theory of childhood development" will be applied, or which techniques will be taught? Social workers have done this for years, and each one may approach the problem from a different school of thought - again, something that's happened for years, just like different martial arts. What does he think they'll do, teach the children to read Marx? That doesn't exist in any social workers manual in any state.
As for contextualizing and personalizing treatment and training - everybody who is familiar with the field or with early childhood intervention knows that's exactly what happens - every case is unique, evey family different. He shouldn't act so surprised.
Mr. Norris also goes on to criticize the plan for mentioning target demographics, including at-risk or improverished communities - which is exactly what most state departments of education do right now to better serve the community. If the problems are coming from a particular area, that's where the effort goes. And Chuck? Dont' worry about an army of field agents going out to every home in America. There aren't millions of social workers out there available to randomly go door-to-door - most of them have overbooked caseloads, and have a hard time dealing with the families who call requesting the help, much less forcing it on anyone.
Yet again, we're reading something from someone who doesn't know what he's talking about getting himself into a tizzy and spreading misinformation about a common event in an attempt to skew public opinion about healthcare reform.
Perhaps if Mr Norris took a greater interest in his community aside from teaching kick boxing to affluent children at a nearby school, he'd know not every family in America is as well off, well fed or well heeled as his own. Maybe if he took his considerable talents, energy and funding and knocked on the door of his local early childhood development office, or consulted with state lawmakers who've dealt with the problem for years he could do some actual good and help children who need more than just a pep talk from a star. Maybe he could help families in trouble or mothers and fathers in need of some education or help parenting because they never received any themselves while living in disfunctional homes in impoverished neighborhoods.
You see Chuck, you want to get to them early, so as they grow, they decide to model themselves after you, and not the drug dealers in the neighborhood or the local bookie or an abusive parent.
Instead of wasting his time showing the rest of us how little he knows or cares, he could actually help make his country a better, stronger place. Perhaps a little more energy on his part asking questions or listening would help and he'd end up supporting the measures in the reform bill that seem to be a "dirty little secret" but only to him.