Report: Quality childcare is essential
Parent Outreach Coordinator/Regional Consumer Education Counselor Christie Martin participates in an Open House at Winterville Charter Academy to promote the services offered by the Martin-Pitt Partnership for Children.
Investing in children improves financial development of local communities
Investing in comprehensive birth-to-five early childhood education is a powerful and cost-effective way to lessen the negative impact of child poverty in the United States, according to new research by Nobel Laureate economist James J. Heckman.
Heckman and colleagues from the University of Chicago and the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center released The Lifecycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program this week, adding further credence to previous research in the field.
The groundbreaking study shows that high quality birth-to-five programs for disadvantaged children can deliver a 13% return on investment per child per year through better outcomes in education, health, social behaviors and employment, reducing taxpayer costs down the line and preparing the country’s workforce for a competitive future.
“This research further solidifies the importance of investing in our children from day one,” said Lisa Mulligan, executive director of the Martin-Pitt Partnership for Children. “These results show us that children who receive quality child care and the education that accompanies that have significantly better life outcomes than those who don’t. Our communities deserve the gains that come from investing in programs that help children with impoverished circumstances.”
With a 13% return on investment, quality childcare and education programs pay for themselves many times over throughout the course of a child’s life, as well as the life of the child’s caregivers. According to Heckman’s research, only 27% of children’s mothers lived with a partner, making employment critical for upward mobility.
“In many situations, the cost of quality childcare prevents parents from returning to school or attaining a higher-paying job,” said Mulligan. “Affordable childcare creates a positive impact on maternal education, labor force participation, and parental income. The cost of failing to invest in our children is a significant loss of personal and economic potential that Pitt County cannot afford.”
The Martin-Pitt Partnership for Children is a Smart Start-affiliated 501(3)(c) non-profit that funds programs in early literacy, quality early child care and learning, assistance finding child care services, parent and family support, and health care in Martin and Pitt counties during the first 2,000 days of a child’s life.