Sharyl Kato and the hard sell of prevention programs
Preserving prevention
Preserving prevention
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
There is an old philosophical question that asks ‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it,
does it still make a sound?’ The same philosophical question could almost be posed about prevention
programs. “If a prevention program changes the life of a child so that he or she doesn’t commit abuse or is
violent as an adult, will anyone know that the abuse didn’t happen?”
That is a question that has to be answered by many funding sources of non-profit agencies in a tight
economy when funding often goes to the squeaky wheel, to services that are treating immediate problems,
and the “invisible” problems that prevention programs make not happen make it tempting to balance the
budget by cutting them.
Although she has been the executive director of The Rainbow Project for 29 years since it was created
by Red Caboose Day Care and then split to become a separate agency, Sharyl Kato has stayed on the front
lines as a child and family therapist at Rainbow and has witnessed what early intervention and prevention
can positively do for the life a child and how it can interrupt the cycle of multi-generational abuse in a family.
As one sits in Kato’s office to talk — it’s real easy to talk in her office — one can’t help but notice the
myriad of toys and stuffed animals and children’s books that in abundant supply. It is definitely children-
friendly.
Kato is passionate about her work and has continued to provide therapy even though she is a full-time
executive director. It gives her perspective on the challenges that her staff and the consumers of their
services face as well as serves as a constant reminder of why Rainbow does the work it does.
Kato is passionate about her work and has continued to provide therapy even though she is a full-time
executive director. It gives her perspective on the challenges that her staff and the consumers of their
Part 1 of 2
There is an old philosophical question that asks ‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it,
does it still make a sound?’ The same philosophical question could almost be posed about prevention
programs. “If a prevention program changes the life of a child so that he or she doesn’t commit abuse or is
violent as an adult, will anyone know that the abuse didn’t happen?”
That is a question that has to be answered by many funding sources of non-profit agencies in a tight
economy when funding often goes to the squeaky wheel, to services that are treating immediate problems,
and the “invisible” problems that prevention programs make not happen make it tempting to balance the
budget by cutting them.
Although she has been the executive director of The Rainbow Project for 29 years since it was created
by Red Caboose Day Care and then split to become a separate agency, Sharyl Kato has stayed on the front
lines as a child and family therapist at Rainbow and has witnessed what early intervention and prevention
can positively do for the life a child and how it can interrupt the cycle of multi-generational abuse in a family.
As one sits in Kato’s office to talk — it’s real easy to talk in her office — one can’t help but notice the
myriad of toys and stuffed animals and children’s books that in abundant supply. It is definitely children-
friendly.
Kato is passionate about her work and has continued to provide therapy even though she is a full-time
executive director. It gives her perspective on the challenges that her staff and the consumers of their
services face as well as serves as a constant reminder of why Rainbow does the work it does.
Kato is passionate about her work and has continued to provide therapy even though she is a full-time
executive director. It gives her perspective on the challenges that her staff and the consumers of their
Sharyl Kato has been The Rainbow
Project’s executive director for 29 years.
Project’s executive director for 29 years.
services face as well as serves as a constant reminder of why Rainbow does the work it does.
“A lot of the research shows that before we even knew there was research, we knew the primary, critical stages early on when the brain is
developing and when the foundation for further development is being established,” Kato said. “That’s why we chose the younger ages. Now
fortunately, there is research that shows that in fact that is very, very true. It’s exciting because we’ve seen the research whether it’s in the history
of inmates in prison, whether it is juvenile delinquency, whether it is domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, all of those fields are
generating research. There is more of an established population in mainstream society that is taking on that torch because folks from the Federal
Reserve in Minneapolis did a study that shows we can save $7-8 for every $1 spent on prevention services. It’s exciting to me to see that. The flip
side to that is we are seeing increasing need and seeing that the more and more community-based services are reduced that you are going to see
more serious problems occur in kids at a younger age. So whether it is serious mental illness requiring hospitalization or detentions and
suspensions from school because of behavior. Even from preschools, there has been disenrolling. We had a four-year-old who had been to five
centers.”
And with every economic downturn or upheaval, there is an increase in the trauma that families are experiencing. “I recall the mid 1970s and
1980s when there were many farm families in the area around Madison losing their farms after generations of having them in their families,” Kato
said. “There were the auctions and horrific crises that were in their lives. And we were seeing an increase in domestic violence and child abuse.
Many of them lost their health insurance. We really saw devastation in many of those families. I remember doing house visits near Sun Prairie and
feeling the sadness and depression that came with some of those very traumatic changes.”
On September 11, The Rainbow Project is hosting Rhumba for Rainbow at the Marriott West Ballroom, 7 p.m. to midnight. It is billed as
Madison’s premier salsa event. Tickets start at $30. Visit www.rhumba4rainbow.org/ for more details.
“A lot of the research shows that before we even knew there was research, we knew the primary, critical stages early on when the brain is
developing and when the foundation for further development is being established,” Kato said. “That’s why we chose the younger ages. Now
fortunately, there is research that shows that in fact that is very, very true. It’s exciting because we’ve seen the research whether it’s in the history
of inmates in prison, whether it is juvenile delinquency, whether it is domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, all of those fields are
generating research. There is more of an established population in mainstream society that is taking on that torch because folks from the Federal
Reserve in Minneapolis did a study that shows we can save $7-8 for every $1 spent on prevention services. It’s exciting to me to see that. The flip
side to that is we are seeing increasing need and seeing that the more and more community-based services are reduced that you are going to see
more serious problems occur in kids at a younger age. So whether it is serious mental illness requiring hospitalization or detentions and
suspensions from school because of behavior. Even from preschools, there has been disenrolling. We had a four-year-old who had been to five
centers.”
And with every economic downturn or upheaval, there is an increase in the trauma that families are experiencing. “I recall the mid 1970s and
1980s when there were many farm families in the area around Madison losing their farms after generations of having them in their families,” Kato
said. “There were the auctions and horrific crises that were in their lives. And we were seeing an increase in domestic violence and child abuse.
Many of them lost their health insurance. We really saw devastation in many of those families. I remember doing house visits near Sun Prairie and
feeling the sadness and depression that came with some of those very traumatic changes.”
On September 11, The Rainbow Project is hosting Rhumba for Rainbow at the Marriott West Ballroom, 7 p.m. to midnight. It is billed as
Madison’s premier salsa event. Tickets start at $30. Visit www.rhumba4rainbow.org/ for more details.