Letter writer: Early childhood funding shouldn’t require economic argument

Graphic by Lori Deaton

Thanks to the hard work of numerous excellent early childhood development and other nonprofits, public awareness of the importance of high-quality early childhood education seems to be at, if not an all-time peak, a very impressive level. Buncombe County Smart Start, Pisgah Legal Services, Verner Center for Early Learning, the YWCA of Asheville, as well as others in Western North Carolina, are providing high-quality care and advocating for policies to improve the lives of the region’s youngest residents. And we at The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, along with many of our fundholders, are pleased to support them.

New research strengthens the deep evidence base for both the immediate and longer-term positive effects of high-quality early care and education. Research released in November by the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy involved more than 1 million North Carolina public school students born between 1988 and 2000. The study found that North Carolina’s investment in young children, specifically Smart Start and More at Four (now NC Pre-K), “resulted in higher test scores, less grade retention and fewer special education placements through fifth grade.” Moreover, the research shows that the benefits of this investment do not diminish with the passage of time.

In addition, Dr. James Heckman, Nobel Laureate (economics) of the University of Chicago, and his colleagues have released a working paper showing a 13 percent return on investment for dollars spent on early care and education. This is actually an increase from earlier research suggesting a 7-10 percent ROI. Although ROI estimates vary according to the study analyzed, a positive, significant ROI has been established.

The case for investment in early childhood development is settled, really. Now, it becomes a matter of convincing state leaders to make the investment and to make it wisely. That’s where things get more complex, because the North Carolina budgeting process is based on a paradigm of scarcity, i.e., the funding pie is unlikely to grow larger. Legislators rob Peter to pay Paul, and early childhood programs find themselves competing with each other for necessary funds. The result often is too little investment to make any particular program operate as well as it could. Relying on the private sector will not produce the level of funding necessary to fund Smart Start, NC Pre-K, Nurse Family Partnership, Parents as Teachers and the state Child Care Subsidy program, to name just a few, at appropriate levels.

As a result, early childhood advocates are now making the economic case for state investment in early childhood programs. This case is clear: an attractive return on investment, a better educated workforce, lower crime rates and so less demand for building prisons, less grade retention and more. It is disappointing, however, that we have had to elevate the economic case to the prime position. The benefit to children should be paramount: physical development; emotional development; development of the soft skills of cooperation and negotiation; development of the ability to delay gratification, to exercise imagination, to learn empathy; and development of an educated citizenry. If the economic case has to be made, the case is easy to make. But I’m sorry that we have to make it, that our state will not invest sufficiently in our children simply because it’s the right thing to do.

— Philip Belcher
Vice president for programs
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on “Letter writer: Early childhood funding shouldn’t require economic argument

  1. Norbert Bourbaki

    The real problem here is that women who should not be having children are having children. Maybe if we spend a lot of money on those children when they’re little they won’t be as much of a burden to us later on, but they’ll still be a serious burden. And Heckman’s ROI calculation is based on a couple of boutique experiments which probably won’t scale up.

    If we had any sense, we’d try to keep women who can’t raise their children properly from having children.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.