Meet Jack! Why Investing Early Matters

By Amanda Gress, Kansas Action for Children and Voices for Children Foundation, KAEYC Board Member

At Kansas Action for Children, we’re always thinking about new ways to make the case for investing in our youngest Kansans. This year, one of my favorite pieces we worked on asked a simple question: What if all low-income children in Kansas had access to high-quality child care? The result was an infographic, with a character named Jack. (The “Meet Jack. See Jack Run!” books inspired us.) Check it out:

This infographic was released by the Partnership for Early Success, a grassroots coalition of early childhood stakeholders. You can learn more about the Partnership – and join, if you haven’t already – at www.kansaspartnership.com. 

Jack shows a lifetime worth of benefits starting early – when Jack is young and his brain is still growing. We all know a robust body of research shows early childhood education pays off in the long run. Children who receive high-quality early education are more likely to enter school ready to learn, which means the K-12 system avoids costs associated with special education or repeating a grade. Children who graduate high school are also less likely to generate criminal justice or public assistance costs as they grow up.

Kansas research confirms these results. A comprehensive study of the TOP Early Learning Centers in Wichita followed program graduates as they started elementary school. Every dollar invested in early learning saved $11 dollars in special education costs – an $11 dollar return on investment! You can read the full report here.

Over the course of a lifetime, with many children across Kansas, this investment really grows in size. By our calculation, investing in high-quality child care for all the low-income children in one class of children would save the state nearly $174 million dollars – and that’s not even counting the increased prosperity we all enjoy when our children grow up and become economically successful! I hope you’ll take some time to watch and share our video, and think about it as you’re providing high-quality early learning to the “Jacks” and “Jills” in your classrooms or your work. Click the following link to view the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-M86Bos1J4&feature=youtu.b