America must cut the pipeline that funnels young people into lives of
crime and violence. We take a hard-nosed look at research on what keeps kids
from becoming criminals and put that information in the hands of policy-makers
and the public.
High-quality early education programs that give kids the right start in life are among the powerful weapons we have in the fight against crime
Illinois law enforcement leaders work everyday to put dangerous, violent criminals
behind bars. Police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, crime survivors, and leaders of police officer organizations
also know that we can prevent crime with a commitment to investing in pre-kindergarten, Head Start and
educational childcare that keep kids from becoming criminals in the first place.
Illinois has made great strides in expanding availability of quality pre-kindergarten and other early
childhood programs. In fact, the Preschool for All legislation in 2006 set a state policy
goal that quality pre-kindergarten programs be made available to all three- and
four-year-olds, and set a five year timetable to achieve that goal. The four year expansion in
quality pre-kindergarten in Illinois has reached 35,000 additional three- and four-year-olds.
This is good news for crime prevention and school readiness. However, much work remains to reach the thousands
of Illinois kids denied quality educational early childhood and school readiness programs every day.
Research tells us definitively that quality early childhood programs for at-risk children cut delinquency
rates by as much as 80 percent. Studies nationwide show that the first years of life are crucial to
healthy social and emotional development -- and that while parents are at work trying to make ends meet
their little ones' minds and emotions are being shaped. Nurturing, stimulating educational care for
babies, toddlers, and pre-school children help them learn respect and concern for others - the foundation
for conscience - and be ready to succeed in school.
For example:
A landmark study of a Chicago program compared children enrolled in a Chicago Child-Parent Centers
program for three- and four-year-olds with children from the same community who had not been enrolled.
The study showed that children who missed out on the program were twice as likely to have multiple juvenile
arrests compared to the children who received the benefits of the child-parent program.
New results from the Chicago Child-Parent Centers research shows that children who were not in the
program were more than twice as likely to be victims of abuse and neglect.
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois Calls on State Leaders to:
Assure all Illinois children access to quality early childhood care and school readiness programs proven to cut crime.
Fully implement the Preschool for All plan and continue investments in enhancing the quality of the childcare assistance program.
Continue the eleven percent set-aside of Early Childhood Education Block Grant funds for programs serving babies and toddlers (birth to three).
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