After his tragic demise Sunday, the world remembers Rob Reiner as a cinematic pressure — and he was one, as an unforgettable presence on the bold Seventies sitcom “All within the Household” and later because the director of beloved movies. I got here to know him in another way: as a stressed thinker who remodeled his personal life story into daring public coverage, reshaping how California understands and invests in its youngest youngsters.
Reiner nearly single-handedly conceived and led the profitable 1998 marketing campaign for California’s Proposition 10, a tobacco tax to lift funds for early childhood well being and training. It established a statewide fee and 58 county commissions charged with investing in healthcare, parenting assist, early training and different companies for kids from prenatal phases via age 5.
On the time this was a radical reframing of public accountability — inserting the earliest years of life on the middle of social coverage.
Reiner didn’t arrive at this work casually. He immersed himself within the science of early mind growth and the proof displaying how experiences within the first 5 years form lifelong outcomes. He articulated, clearly and persuasively, that investing early was not charity however a confirmed approach to scale back crime, mitigate poverty and strengthen households and communities.
I noticed his dedication up shut once I was the founding chief government of First 5 Alameda County, one of many county commissions Prop 10 created. Reiner by no means delegated the arduous components. He confirmed up, listened intently, requested robust questions and helped remedy issues. He led with readability and conviction, refusing to let bureaucratic inertia outline the boundaries of what was doable. He knew that public coverage, like storytelling, requires creativeness, self-discipline and persistence.
Because the founding chair of First 5 California, which was created by Prop 10, Reiner prolonged his management far past the marketing campaign. He traveled the state, participating with group leaders, educators, well being professionals and households. He was deeply dedicated to evidence-informed motion, not symbolic picture ops. Whether or not in Sacramento or small rural cities, he insisted on understanding each the info and the human tales behind the work. He appeared to search out real pleasure in spending time with the youngsters whose lives had been improved.
Reiner additionally carried with him the imprint of his personal childhood. Rising up within the shadow of his celebrated father, the actor and author Carl Reiner, he spoke candidly about feeling misunderstood and emotionally unsure as a boy — feelings he later channeled into the drama “Stand by Me.” That movie’s devastating scene, through which a teenager sobs that his father doesn’t love him, got here from Rob Reiner’s personal emotions as a baby.
Fairly than succumbing to bitterness, he used that emotional perception to gasoline his advocacy for households and younger youngsters. This work wasn’t summary for him; it was private.
First 5 California has generated greater than $11 billion for packages that increase entry to high quality preschool, enhance early educator coaching and compensation, develop modern childhood psychological well being companies, enhance entry to pediatric dental care, and supply complete assist to struggling households. County First 5 companies have tailor-made initiatives to native wants, creating packages that replicate the variety and complexities of communities throughout the state.
Reiner was not some Hollywood figurehead in a go well with (actually, sweatpants and T-shirts had been his most well-liked fashion). He sat via numerous fee conferences, handed out chewing gum and saved issues transferring. When discussions stalled, he didn’t wait: He would make a movement, and if Robert’s Guidelines of Order had allowed it, he may need seconded it too.
Reiner moved simply amongst coverage consultants and elected officers, and his respect for individuals working immediately with youngsters was by no means performative. He handled a household baby care supplier in West Oakland with the identical seriousness as he would a state legislator. His dedication to fairness made him a frequent voice on information panels and public boards through which early childhood coverage was being debated.
His imaginative and prescient wasn’t small. It was rooted within the perception that supporting youngsters early is likely one of the only methods to strengthen society. His work reshaped California’s coverage panorama and impressed advocates nationwide to raise early childhood from an afterthought to a precedence.
Reiner’s legacy reaches far past Hollywood — into school rooms, clinics, properties and playgrounds throughout California and the U.S. Numerous youngsters have had a stronger begin in life as a result of he refused to look away.
Mark Friedman is the chief government of the Eden Well being District. He was chief government of First 5 Alameda County and president of the First 5 Affiliation of California.
