State to probe health, children BATON ROUGE, LA. (AP) (wrkf) - Officials say new findings on how education and health traits are largely determined by the age of 5 are so striking that the state plans to host a symposium on the issue this year.

State Representative Hollis Downs and eight other state and local policy-makers attended a two-day conference on the issue at Harvard University in June.

State officials are now in early talks on how the new findings can help Louisiana combat daunting education, health and other problems.

The meeting was hosted by the Center on the Developing Child, which does research on how an infant and toddler's early years shape their quality of life.

Downs said the study could pave the way for new laws and other changes designed to detect learning problems much earlier. © Copyright 2009, wrkf