Investing in early childhood education rarely on politicians' lists

President Bill Clinton recently spoke about the incredible results from Arkansas’ investment in early childhood education. The program exemplified both school readiness and long-term positive achievement results into the third grade. But high-quality early childhood education isn’t a partisan issue. It is an economic development and workforce issue. Several governors from both major parties have supported preschool funding within their states. In 1971, the federal Comprehensive Child Development Act passed both houses of Congress with a bipartisan majority. An eleventh-hour maneuver by a few strong lobbies sidelined the issue, which has remained there for the past 40 years.

It has started to regain momentum in several states and both Oklahoma and Arkansas have strong programs for young children. States bordering Missouri are serving from 25 percent to 76 percent. Oklahoma serves 76 percent and is considered one of the strongest in the country. Missouri serves only 4 percent of eligible children in state-funded funded preschool.

Granted, there are so many items that need our attention, from fully funding the K-12 school formula to jails and prisons, to roads, bridges and the health needs of our citizens. In the current political climate, a long list of items about which we should care is touted. I am sorry to say that early care and education is rarely listed, and even less often placed near the top of the list. Research shows that when the investment in early childhood is a priority, many of the other items typically near the top of the list are less of an issue. Crime, health care, education reform and even job challenges are being addressed in preschool classrooms and home visitation programs around the country. It certainly won’t fix every problem, but quality early childhood programming should be a question we pose to all those running for local, state and national office.

“What is your position on supporting early childhood care and education, and how do you propose to fund the programming you support?” I wonder if the average politician knows the cost of care in our community. In case you ask for their guess, the average cost of full-time care for an infant in our community is between $185 and $200 per week. Child care for a 3-year-old averages between $95 and $120 per week. The costs are crippling to a family just starting out.

Every Child Promise looks forward to continuing the discussion around access and funding of early childhood programming in the coming months.

Dana Carroll is Springfield’s child advocate. You can email her at dcarroll@commpartnership.org.