Hartford’s Law Enforcement Leaders: Invest in Early Education or Foot Bigger Prison Bill Later
Nov 5th 2009
HARTFORD, CONN. (Nov. 5, 2009) -- At a news conference today, Hartford Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts and Wethersfield Chief James Cetran released a research brief indicating that high-quality early learning programs for at-risk children ages birth to five can significantly reduce crime and ultimately cut corrections costs by a quarter or more.
Connecticut law enforcement leaders are urging U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd to champion new federal legislation to implement the administration’s proposed Early Learning Challenge Fund, which will provide $1 billion per year in grants for states to expand access to high-quality early childhood development initiatives. Dodd is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and chairs the subcommittee that is developing the early learning bill. Law enforcement leaders are also asking the state legislature to continue to support quality early education efforts at the state level.
“More than half my life has been spent in law enforcement. And, to this day, the most frustrating thing I see continues to be a child slowly going down the wrong path – because I know where that path leads – it leads to lost hope, a life of crime, incarceration. As adults and leaders in our community and government it is our responsibility to provide our children with the support they need that leads to a life of achievement and success,” Chief Roberts said.
A long-term study of the high-quality Perry Preschool in Michigan found that by age 40, the kids left out of the program were 85 percent more likely to be sentenced to jail or prison. A study of Chicago’s Child-Parent Centers, detailed in the report, showed that at-risk kids who did not attend the program were 24 percent more likely to be incarcerated than similar kids who did attend.
The Hartford area law enforcement officials emphasized the cost-saving benefits of investing in high-quality early childhood education and care, especially for at-risk young children. Research indicates that investing in early learning cuts crime and incarceration rates, delivering a substantial return to taxpayers. The Child-Parent Centers, for example, cut later crime, welfare and other expenses so effectively that they saved more than $10 for every $1 invested.
“When you compare the costs of early education or prison, the best choice is clear. I would much rather see some of my tax dollars supporting preschool learners now than a whole lot more tax dollars supporting prison inmates later,” Chief Cetran said.
The proposed Early Learning Challenge Fund will support state-funded early education programs, such as pre-kindergarten or quality child care, similar to federally-funded Head Start and Early Head Start, which offer constructive environments for the healthy growth and development of young children in the first five years of life. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in September that included support for the Early Learning Challenge Fund.
The law enforcement leaders said that more support is needed at the state and federal level to ensure that quality early childhood programs are available and affordable to more families. Costs for enrolling young children in early learning programs can run as high as $7,300 a year, which many families are unable to afford.
The need for increased access to high-quality early learning opportunities is great. For example, the federally-funded Head Start program for children in poverty serves only half of eligible children nationwide due to inadequate funding. And the youngest children, from birth to age 3, are even more dramatically underserved. In fact, Early Head Start serves only about three percent of eligible infants and toddlers nationally.
The research shows that quality is essential to getting the crime and incarceration reduction benefits of early learning. The Early Learning Challenge Fund legislation will enable states to adopt best practices, including higher qualifications for teachers and caregivers, smaller class sizes, and early screening and referrals for mental, emotional and behavioral problems, and could also incorporate parent coaching, which teaches at-risk families ways to promote their children’s development.
Cetran and Roberts are members of FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS, an anti-crime organization led by 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, other law enforcement leaders and violence survivors nationwide, including 78 in Connecticut.
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Click here to download the report.
