Early Childhood Luncheon May 7 th, 2010

#20 “It’s easier to build a healthy child than to repair an adult.” ~Darwin Booher

Early Intervention… For every dollar invested, $7 are saved down the road. #18 Early childhood programs can generate savings that more than repay their costs, and that produces returns for schools, state governments, taxpayers, and the public.

#17 A child who walks through the kindergarten doors ready to learn, ready to make the most of the vital first years of elementary school, is far more likely to succeed in school and in life. Dr. Jack Shonkoff, Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child

#15 Preschool is fun! Check out the dancing and singing in Ruth Center’s Early Childhood Special Education Classroom in Manton

Only 7 counties in Michigan have a higher teen pregnancy rate than Wexford County. -Kids Count 2009 data #14

“School success is a critical issue for any state trying to build a strong economy….Michigan will continually lag behind its economic competitors unless it invests in the education of its youngest citizens.” -Mike Flanagan Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction #13

#12 There is a lack of affordable preschool options for families with young children- in our own community and across the state. In Michigan, the Great Start Readiness and Head Start program currently serve more than 47,000 low-income 4-year olds across Michigan. Another 35,000 children are eligible but not served. -Wilder Study

“It will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education – from the day they are born to the day they begin a career... We have dramatically expanded early childhood education and will continue to improve its quality, because we know that the most formative learning comes in those first years of life." #11 -Address to joint session of Congress February 24, 2009 President Obama

#10 Wexford and Missaukee Counties’ rate of confirmed victims of child abuse and neglect is higher than the state average. The number of children placed in out-of-home care is also higher than the state average. -Kids Count 2009 data

#9 Michigan taxpayers saved $1.15 billion last year because of the state’s investments over the past 25 years in early education programs, according to the Wilder Research Study.

#8 Well-prepared learners are the key to the skilled, educated workforce that is crucial to Michigan’s economic success. There is an economic cost to school unreadiness. Reducing state investments in early childhood programs would hurt future state budgets and the overall state economy. The $1.15 billion saved due to previous investments in early childhood includes reduced spending on: -students repeating grades -special education -juvenile corrections costs -child abuse and neglect costs -adult criminal justice costs -welfare and Medicaid costs -increased income tax and sales tax revenue due to higher wages and higher worker productivity

#6 Parents who understand normal child development are less likely to be abusive and more likely to nurture their children’s healthy development. Observing other children helps parents understand their own children in context.

In 2008, 72% of children in the Wexford-Missaukee Area began Kindergarten with a pre-school experience. This is a 30% improvement due to a 3- year grant that ends June Locally about 65% of children under 6 have both parents working. About 1 in 5 children in the area are living in poverty. Great Start Collaborative Community Report on the Status of Young Children, 2009

#4 The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby's development. A newborn's brain is about 25 percent of its approximate adult weight. But by age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of connections, or synapses, between these cells. While we know that the development of a young child's brain takes years to complete, we also know there are many things parents and caregivers can do to help children get off to a good start and establish healthy patterns for life-long learning.

In a recent poll, 75% of Michigan voters said they believe early childhood development and education programs should be protected from state budget cuts. -Early Childhood Investment Corporation #3

#2 “We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.” ~Stacia Tauscher

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