The Case for Early Childhood

BHAG To be a leading social change agent that transformed greater Detroit into one of the top 5 places to live and work by top 5 Top 5

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50 percent? Less than 50 percent of kids in our region are ready for kindergarten. Of those kids less than 50 percent will graduate high school. As for college? Way less than 50 percent. And of those kids? Less than 50 percent are equipped to succeed.

The Importance of Early Education By age 3: 90% of the brain is developed. A child living in poverty will hear 30 million fewer words than a child from a middle-income home. By kindergarten: A child from a non-communicative home environment may have a vocabulary equivalent to a 2-year-old. A child from a literacy-rich home may have a vocabulary equivalent to a 10-year old. Bottom line the 8 year gap rarely closes

6 Dollars and $ense of Education in the Earliest Years The Benefits $17/1 – return for every dollar we invest on early childhood education. The Ongoing Cost of Not Investing $115 million in K-12 spending. $303 million in increased government spending and decreased tax revenues. $180 million in increased social costs. $ $

7 Putting Our Money Where It Matters? 2012 Michigan Expenditure Comparison

8 State Resource Consolidation – The Office of Great Start

Early Literacy Attachment and Self Regulation Quality Care Birth Informal Kindergarten Formal Our Early Childhood Ecosystem Early Learning Communities: 14,000 will participate improving childcare practices in our Family, Friend and Neighbor network. Quality: Improving quality for 3,000 licensed childcare programs serving 30,000 high need kids in our region. Family Literacy: Targeting 16,000 high need families at birth to create a daily reading practice. To date, 24,420 kids receive a book a month from birth - age 5. Getting Results

2012 Half of those parents pledge to read to their child every day and receive a free book each month for the child’s first five years. Half of those parents get connected within three months to ensure their family’s basic needs are met. Children enter kindergarten with the foundation in place to get at least a 21 on the ACT 12 years later. Step 2 Step 1 Step 3 Half of those families complete a class in nutrition, child development, or financial stability ,00 children--many of whom are in the Safety Net, are born each year at ten hospitals in Greater Detroit. The Tipping Point Strategy