Partnership for America

1
Early Childhood Development An Investment We
Cant Afford to Pass Up

• Partnership for Americas Economic Success
• 901 E Street NW, 10th Floor
• Washington, DC 20004
• [phone]
• info_at_PartnershipforSuccess.org
• www.PartnershipforSuccess.org

2
Investing in Early Childhood Development

• Running the Numbers
• Growing up poor1
• 2 fewer years of school
• Lifetime earnings reduced by half
• Lack of stable housing2
• 20 less likely to finish high school
• Food insecurity3
• Costs are quadrupled to educate hungry children

SOURCE 1Duncan, Greg J. et al. 2008. Economic
costs of early childhood poverty Raising young
children out of poverty can substantially improve
their odds of economic and life success
Washington, DC. 2Roy, Joydeep. 2008. The hidden
costs of the housing crisis The long-term impact
of housing affordability and quality on young
childrens odds of success. Partnership for
Americas Economic Success Washington,
DC. 3Murphy, C. et al. 2008. Reading, writing and
hungry The consequences of food insecurity on
children, and on our nations economic success.
Partnership for Americas Economic Success
Washington, DC.
3
The Cost of Doing Nothing

• By not learning, the brain does not grow

Normal child
Severely neglected child
Images reproduced with permission by Harry
Chugani, M.D., Wayne State Univ. School of
Medicine, Chief, Pediatric Neurology, Director ,
PET Center, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Dept
of Neurology. 
4
Kids Who Start Behind Stay Behind
SOURCE Felitti, V.J., Kaiser Permanente and
Anda, R.F., Center for Disease Control and
Prevention
SOURCE Felitti, V.J., Kaiser Permanente and
Anda, R.F., Center for Disease Control and
Prevention.
5
How America Stacks Up

• U.S. Ranks 26 out of 32 countries on PISA 2006
  Math Scores

Annual societal costs of managing uncontrolled
asthma attacks
0
4 Billion
SOURCE Fertig, A. and Corso, P. (2008) The long
term economic costs of asthma. Partnership for
Americas Economic Success Washington, DC.
6
The Good News

• The Earlier the Investment, the Greater the
  Return

Programs targeted toward the earliest years
Preschool programs
Schooling
Rate of return to investment in human capital
Job training
4-5 Pre-school
School
0-3
Post-School
Age
SOURCE Heckman, James J. Schools, skills and
synapses. Economic Inquiry. July 2008.
7
Business Leader Support

• Jim Rohr, CEO of PNC Bank, leading 100 million
  PNC Grow Up Great
• George Kaiser, CEO of Kaiser-Francis Oil, major
  supporter of early care and education in Oklahoma
• Ed Basha, CEO of Bashas Grocery Stores, led
  fight in Arizona for early childhood ballot
  initiative
• Massachusetts Strategies for Children campaign
  business leaders Mara Aspinall, CEO of Genzyme
  Genetics Ronald Sargeant, CEO of Staples James
  Brett, CEO of The New England Council Richard
  Lord, CEO of Associated Industries of
  Massachusetts
• CEOs of Federal Reserve Banks in Richmond,
  Cleveland and San Francisco made statements in
  support of early investments as economic
  development
• Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke high
  returns that early childhood programs can pay

8
A Jarring Realization

• Portion of Business Leaders Who Say a Skilled
  Workforce is the Most Important Factor to
  Business Success

Portion Who Say Theyre Concerned about Finding
Skilled Workers
74
54
SOURCE Zogby, J., et. al. ()2005). American
business leaders views on publicly-funded
pre-kindergarten and advantages to the economy.
Zogby International Washington, DC.
SOURCE American business leaders views on
publicly-funded pre-kindergarten and the
advantages to the economy. Zogby International.
December 2005.
9
Sound Investments, Solid Returns

• Health

Stability
Education
10
Early Childhood Development An Investment We
Cant Afford to Pass Up

• Partnership for Americas Economic Success
• 901 E Street NW, 8th Floor
• Washington, DC 20004
• [phone]
• info_at_PartnershipforSuccess.org
• www.PartnershipforSuccess.org