Head Start Prevents Crime, Boosts Economy And Could Generate Tax Savings of $400 for Every Maine Household
Jan 31st 2007
Bangor, Jan. 31-Maine law enforcement leaders, a representative of the business community and an economist released a report today that shows Head Start not only prepares children to succeed in school, it also prevents crime, saves Maine taxpayers money and is good for the economy. The report calls for increased federal investments to expand access to Head Start and improve the quality of programs.
Improving quality standards and expanding access to all eligible Maine children can generate tax savings of $400 for every Maine household, according to the report. The savings will come from lower crime, special education and welfare costs plus increased tax revenue from higher earnings of adults who attended Head Start as kids.
The report, "Investing in Maine Head Start Saves Money," shows that 68 percent, or over 8,000, eligible Maine children are not served by Head Start or Early Head Start due to inadequate federal funding. The report was prepared by FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS MAINE, a bipartisan, anti-crime organization of 76 police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys and violence survivors.
Bangor Police Chief Don Winslow, Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross, businesswoman Cheryl Russell, University of Maine economist Philip Trostel and Jeff Kirsch, vice president of FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS, released the report at a news conference at a Head Start site, the Penquis Child Care Development Center.
Participants in the news conference called on Maine's congressional delegation to support increased funding for Head Start and Early Head Start to serve all eligible children and to improve the quality of services.
Winslow cited a study of the Perry Preschool in Michigan to demonstrate the crime-prevention benefits of high quality early education. At age 27, at-risk kids who had been left out of the program as 3- and 4-year-olds were five times more likely to have become chronic lawbreakers than similar kids who participated.
"Congress needs to invest in our most vulnerable children now so they don't become our most wanted criminals later," Winslow said.
Besides cutting crime, Ross said Head Start helps kids succeed in school, improves graduation rates and leads to better jobs.
The report concludes that with improved quality, Maine Head Start would save $10 for every dollar invested. The savings would come from reduced school expenses for special education and grade repetition, the cost of crime, reduced welfare expenses and increased tax revenue once the participant reach adulthood.
The report calculates that if all eligible children received high quality Head Start, over the long term Mainers will save $400 million per year. Of that total, $250 million will be in reduced government expenses and increased tax revenue.
"Mainers know a good deal when they see it," Ross said. "Head Start helps Maine be tough on crime and easy on the wallet."
Russell expressed concern about the future of Maine's economy. Employment in the state's traditional industries is declining. She said new job growth will be in service-related industries requiring new skills.
She also cited a 2005 Zogby poll of Fortune 500 business leaders which found that more than 80 percent agree that investments in effective preschool programs -like Head Start- would help the United States remain competitive with other countries and improve the quality of our workforce and our long-term economic outlook.
"Expanded Head Start and Early Head Start are essential to a prosperous Maine future," Russell said.
Trostel said he agrees with the report's conclusion that making Head Start available for all of Maine's low-income children is important to the future of the state's economy. Early childhood education is an economic investment with a very high rate of return," Trostel said.
Head Start programs are generally of higher quality than other early care and education programs but there's room for improvement, the report said. The number of teachers with four-year college degrees needs to increase. More parent coaching and interventions for children with behavioral problems also are needed.
FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS MAINE is part of FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS, a national, bipartisan, anti-crime organization of more than 3,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, other law enforcement leaders, and violence survivors.
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