Montana Law Enforcement Leaders Urge Rep. Rehberg to Support Early Care and Education

Sheriffs, police chief and prosecutor meet with Rehberg, asking support for early childhood education to help improve public safety

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Martha Brooks, mbrooks@fightcrime.org
Cell: 503-577-4715, Desk: 503-649-2068

 

BILLINGS, MONT. (Aug. 9, 2011) Montana law enforcement leaders met with U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT, AL) today to discuss their support for high-quality early care and education programs as an effective strategy to reduce crime and save taxpayer dollars.

Custer County Sheriff Tony Harbaugh, Missoula Chief of Police Mark Muir, Cascade County Attorney John Parker and Sweet Grass County Sheriff Dan Tronrud met with Rep. Rehberg urging continued support for early care and education. They delivered a letter from local law enforcement officials urging him to protect early care and education, as well as a national letter signed by more than 650 law enforcement leaders from all 50 states sending the same message to Congress.

Theres no replacement for policing and corrections, but offering early assistance to at-risk children is a force multiplier for preventing crime, Sheriff Tronrud said. We believe in high-quality early care and education because its got a proven impact on reducing violent crime and making our communities safer places to live, work and raise a family.

Its much better and far cheaper to prevent crime than to rely only on reactive crime-control strategies. We can help put Montanas kids on a productive path if we offer them an early introduction to learning. The research backs that up, Chief Muir said.

New evidence published last month in the prestigious research journal Science provides new evidence that high-quality early care and education programs can prevent crime and save taxpayers millions of dollars. A decades-later follow-up of over 1,400 low-income children in Chicago found that those who did not attend the Child-Parent Center preschools were 27 percent more likely to have a felony arrest by age 26 and were 39 percent more likely to have spent time in jail. Earlier analysis found that this program saved more than $10 for every $1 spent, from reduced crime and other costs to the public.

We recognize that money is tight, and we know Congress is in the midst of making tough budgetary decisions, Sheriff Harbaugh said. We strongly urge Congress to protect and prioritize our commitment to early care and education because it is sound fiscal policy and will help keep our communities safe.

Despite the research on the benefits of early education, many of the at-risk children who need access still do not have it. According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, less than 30 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds in poverty were served by Head Start in 2009, and only 2 percent of eligible children under age 3 were served in Early Head Start during the same period. Fewer than one in six eligible children in low-income families receives support for child care through the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Montana has no state pre-kindergarten program, and about 20 percent of the states four-year-olds are enrolled in the federal Head Start program.

Early care and education not only help at-risk kids get the right start in life, but also reduce the likelihood that theyll commit crimes as adults, County Attorney Parker said. Despite the proven benefits, many young children still cannot attend programs like Head Start or quality child care. Its important that we make every effort to maintain funding for these programs that serve at-risk children. 

Sheriff Harbaugh, Chief Muir, County Attorney Parker and Sheriff Tronrud are members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national anti-crime organization of police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and violence survivors with 73 members in Montana and more than 5,000 members nationwide.

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