At a time when Washington seeks solutions to the fiscal cliff, investing in quality early childhood development is the way to accomplish both goals of reducing the debt in a balanced way and strengthening the economy in the short and long term. 

 

Data from economists, social scientists and medical experts conclusively show that comprehensive early childhood development—from birth to age five—particularly for disadvantaged children and their families yields substantial returns in higher educational attainment, improved health outcomes and economic prosperity. This includes research conducted by Nobel Prize-winning University of Chicago Economics Professor James Heckman which shows that every dollar invested in early childhood development produces a 7-10 percent return—per child, per year—in reduced social spending and increased productivity.

 

Right now Congress has an opportunity to be smart about building a more prosperous future, said Kris Perry, executive director of the First Five Years Fund. “If lawmakers are wise, we can both save and invest dollars for better returns. Protecting and investing in the critical infrastructure that programs such as Head Start and Child Care provide can facilitate parents’ employment, save special education costs and improve educational outcomes, while building a more productive workforce and stronger economy.”

 

Today 25 percent of children under age 5 live in poverty, including 43 percent of black children and 36 percent of Latino children. These kids face a human cliff, a drop off in achievement caused by gaps in early childhood development. As a result, many children enter kindergarten with deficits in foundational skills and capabilities that hamper their ability to be successful in school and make later contributions to our economy and society.  

 

As Congress works to negotiate the “Grand Bargain,” FFYF urges legislators to invest in quality early childhood development.  More information about the return on investment in early childhood development can be found here.

 

 

First Five Years Fund helps America achieve better results in education, health and economic productivity through investments in quality early childhood education programs for disadvantaged children. FFYF provides knowledge, data, and advocacy—persuading federal policymakers to make investments in the first five years of a child’s life that create greater returns for all. 

 

 

You’re likely hearing a lot about the fiscal cliff in the news, but there are so many pieces—tax cuts, entitlement reform, the debt ceiling, and on and on—that it can be hard to keep track of what it might mean for any particular program. It is clear, though, that spending cuts will continue to be part of discussions about a possible “grand bargain,” and the threat to early learning funding remains very real.

 

Just how deep the cuts might be remains to be seen, but early estimates projected that Early Head Start, Head Start, and child care could be subject to an 8.2 percent cut. The impact of an 8.2 percent cut to these funding streams will be devastating to children, families, and communities. Conservative estimates show that 100,000 children could lose access to Head Start, and 80,000 children could lose their child care assistance. You can see an estimate of the effect in your state here.

 

As the experts on our post-analysis election call emphasized, members of Congress care about early learning programs, but they need help understanding how they help the people that matter to them most: their constituents. In these heady discussions about fiscal policy and debt reduction, they need reminders that indiscriminate cuts will do lasting harm, and that vulnerable children and families should be protected in any “grand bargain” they might strike.

 

We hope you’ll help us spread that message. Please consider using our outreach toolkit with easy templates that will help you remind Congress and the media that cuts to Head Start and child care will impact real people who live in their districts in very real ways. The templates are geared toward providers, and we hope you’ll circulate them to any Head Start or child care providers in your networks. They can also be easily adapted by advocates, business leaders or other stakeholders.

 

Finally, please share your outreach and data with us! We want to echo your message and spread your stories on the Hill and in our own conversations with reporters. We’re all in for wild ride, but we can work together to make sure early learning is buckled in and holding on tight.