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When Pontiac native Nathaniel Abraham entered a guilty plea recently to felony drug possession charges I wondered, what if? What if he had gotten the help he needed early in his life, would he have ended up on another path.


Abraham made international news over a decade ago when, at age 11, he was the youngest person in Michigan to ever be tried as an adult for murder. He was charged in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Ronnie Green, and ultimately convicted of second-degree murder. The judge in the case sentenced Abraham to serve his time in a juvenile facility, a controversial move at the time. He was released in 2007, after turning 21, and a year later finds himself facing up to 20 years in prison. He is to be sentenced later this month, and he will most certainly serve his time with adults.



I was at a meeting of professionals and parents in Macomb County yesterday when I heard something hit me like a bolt. Judy Samelson, CEO of the Early Childhood Investment Corporation was talking about the group's plan to help ensure better chances for children at risk of failing in school through its Great Starts Collaborate in Macomb. Speaking on the commitment of the community leaders to Great Starts work.


Samelson shared a remark made during a recent gathering by Patricia Caruso, director of the Michigan Department of Corrections, that she supported the group's efforts because she believes if they effectively reach youth during early childhood, her job will be much easier.


I was glad to hear that sentiment expressed because it means someone not among the usual suspects really gets the importance of nurturing children 0-5. It was also a bit sobering because I think it takes hearing that type of talk from someone responsible for handling the worst of those young people who eventually later fail later in for many folks to get the critical importance of early childhood development.


The reality is that if a child cannot read at grade level by third grade he or she will have a tough time succeeding in school or in life. Only 12 percent will graduate from high school and only 2 percent will earn a college degree. Some will do fine without the college education, but most of that remaining 98 percent will likely find themselves unemployed, underemployed, living in poverty, in poor health, exposed to crime, violence, or victim to substance abuse or physical abuse. And yes, many will end up in prison.


Our nation's prison population has nearly doubled in the last 20 years to more than 2 million. The MDOC ended 2006 with 51,570 inmates, a population larger than at any time in history, according the department's annual report. That was the result of "all time record high of 11,091 new commitments."


Abraham will now join them, and he seemed almost doomed to the fate. He was raised by a single mom, and lived in a low-income household, in a poor neighborhood. Like many other poor black or Hispanic youths, he was about three times more likely to end up in a prison cell than in a college dorm room.


Not all poor children end up like Abraham, but too many do. Sadder still is the fate of those like Green, an innocent man who fell victim to violent crime prevalent in his environment. Environments matter, and the more nurturing and literacy education present in a child's home the better his or her odds of staying on the right track and off the path to prison.


I am glad to see someone in Caruso, who isn't among the usual suspects, hammer home resoundingly the point that we have to reach children closer to birth than the classroom. We know that 11 is too late.