Children are society’s most precious resource.
That’s the mindset behind the Children’s Caucus, a bipartisan group of Wisconsin legislators who have come together to ensure the state is creating public policy that is good for children.
The caucus, headed by Senator Julie Lassa and Representative Joan Ballweg, met for the first time April 12, with focus on the issue of early childhood education. Experts spoke on the economic, social and scientific benefits of early childhood education.
The topic of education seemed appropriate in light of the report released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) just a week before. According to the report, the annual infant care cost is around $11,500 in Wisconsin. The EPI, a nonpartisan think-tank based in Washington D.C, reported that that childcare costs approximately 15 percent of the median Wisconsin household income. The government considers child care affordable if it is less than 10 percent of a family's income.
Dipesh Navsaria, assistant professor of pediatrics at University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, said this is a well-known issue in the world of early childhood education.
“We’ve really moved from a concept of early childhood care as being not merely ‘day care’ where children need to be so their parents can work, but a place for children to receive high quality, nurturing, stimulating environments setting in place the early skills they need for more advanced learning later,” Navsaria said in an email. “The combination of developing their skills as well as strong, supportive relationships are critical.”
There are neurological benefits early education, according to University of Wisconsin Professor of Psychology Dr. Seth Pollak, who spoke at the caucus’ first event. In a 2011 study on the brain and poverty, Pollak and colleagues concluded that children from households with lower socioeconomic income status actually had smaller concentrations of grey matter, which affects long-term memory, learning and emotional behavior. The study hypothesized that early environment is essential for a variety of outcomes, from health to educational achievement.
Early childhood education can also have on the economy, according to University of Minnesota Senior Fellow Dr. Art Rolnick. Rolnick, an expert on early childhood economic development, cited research that claims 80-90 percent of the brain is developed by age four.
“Research shows if a child starts school behind, on average, they stay behind,” Rolnick said. “If you start early, if you start in the foundation years, these kids will succeed.”
Rolnick pointed to a high return on investment as incentive for state and national support of public, accessible early childhood education.
“There’s such significant savings when children succeed in school, savings for the public,” Rolnick said in an interview. “Lower crime, less need for special ed., more productive citizens, so they pay more taxes. So most of that return is a public benefit.”
As an economist, Rolnick understands that early childhood education is not a cheap investment.
“These are trained professionals in our four-star rated programs,” Rolnick said. “We need high quality teachers, so we need to pay well to get the results. You don’t get the results if you don’t pay well.”
Asking what’s to be done to control the cost of childcare may be asking the wrong question, according to Ruth Schmidt, executive director of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association.
Instead of asking why the cost was so high, Schmidt implored the public to ask, “What can we do as a nation to finance a system of early childhood education for all our children?”
Schmidt pointed to the fact that the average childcare teacher caring for infants through 5 years old is making 10 dollars on hour, and that more than 3 out of 10 childcare teachers leave their jobs each year.
“It’s an equation where we’re setting up children up for failure because we don’t finance the system correctly,” Schmidt said.
Experts told the Children’s Caucus that investing in early childhood education could help close the achievement gap and lift future families out of poverty. Currently, almost 20 percent of children in Wisconsin live in poverty, according to the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families.
The Children’s Caucus represents an understanding across aisles that early childhood education is a path to economic and social achievement later in life.
“Early childhood education is one of the few issues where the Republicans and the Democrats come together around the need for investments in early care and education,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said this bipartisanship is a promising sign for those looking to generate public support for the issue.
“Children are our most precious resource,” Senator Lassa said in a press release, “and their well-being has a tremendous impact on the health of our entire society.”
“Even children in poor families have immense potential and we would be unlikely to see it if they didn’t have access to a good education,” Navsaria said.
“It’s very much at the heart of “’the American Dream.’”
That’s the mindset behind the Children’s Caucus, a bipartisan group of Wisconsin legislators who have come together to ensure the state is creating public policy that is good for children.
The caucus, headed by Senator Julie Lassa and Representative Joan Ballweg, met for the first time April 12, with focus on the issue of early childhood education. Experts spoke on the economic, social and scientific benefits of early childhood education.
The topic of education seemed appropriate in light of the report released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) just a week before. According to the report, the annual infant care cost is around $11,500 in Wisconsin. The EPI, a nonpartisan think-tank based in Washington D.C, reported that that childcare costs approximately 15 percent of the median Wisconsin household income. The government considers child care affordable if it is less than 10 percent of a family's income.
Dipesh Navsaria, assistant professor of pediatrics at University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, said this is a well-known issue in the world of early childhood education.
“We’ve really moved from a concept of early childhood care as being not merely ‘day care’ where children need to be so their parents can work, but a place for children to receive high quality, nurturing, stimulating environments setting in place the early skills they need for more advanced learning later,” Navsaria said in an email. “The combination of developing their skills as well as strong, supportive relationships are critical.”
There are neurological benefits early education, according to University of Wisconsin Professor of Psychology Dr. Seth Pollak, who spoke at the caucus’ first event. In a 2011 study on the brain and poverty, Pollak and colleagues concluded that children from households with lower socioeconomic income status actually had smaller concentrations of grey matter, which affects long-term memory, learning and emotional behavior. The study hypothesized that early environment is essential for a variety of outcomes, from health to educational achievement.
Early childhood education can also have on the economy, according to University of Minnesota Senior Fellow Dr. Art Rolnick. Rolnick, an expert on early childhood economic development, cited research that claims 80-90 percent of the brain is developed by age four.
“Research shows if a child starts school behind, on average, they stay behind,” Rolnick said. “If you start early, if you start in the foundation years, these kids will succeed.”
Rolnick pointed to a high return on investment as incentive for state and national support of public, accessible early childhood education.
“There’s such significant savings when children succeed in school, savings for the public,” Rolnick said in an interview. “Lower crime, less need for special ed., more productive citizens, so they pay more taxes. So most of that return is a public benefit.”
As an economist, Rolnick understands that early childhood education is not a cheap investment.
“These are trained professionals in our four-star rated programs,” Rolnick said. “We need high quality teachers, so we need to pay well to get the results. You don’t get the results if you don’t pay well.”
Asking what’s to be done to control the cost of childcare may be asking the wrong question, according to Ruth Schmidt, executive director of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association.
Instead of asking why the cost was so high, Schmidt implored the public to ask, “What can we do as a nation to finance a system of early childhood education for all our children?”
Schmidt pointed to the fact that the average childcare teacher caring for infants through 5 years old is making 10 dollars on hour, and that more than 3 out of 10 childcare teachers leave their jobs each year.
“It’s an equation where we’re setting up children up for failure because we don’t finance the system correctly,” Schmidt said.
Experts told the Children’s Caucus that investing in early childhood education could help close the achievement gap and lift future families out of poverty. Currently, almost 20 percent of children in Wisconsin live in poverty, according to the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families.
The Children’s Caucus represents an understanding across aisles that early childhood education is a path to economic and social achievement later in life.
“Early childhood education is one of the few issues where the Republicans and the Democrats come together around the need for investments in early care and education,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said this bipartisanship is a promising sign for those looking to generate public support for the issue.
“Children are our most precious resource,” Senator Lassa said in a press release, “and their well-being has a tremendous impact on the health of our entire society.”
“Even children in poor families have immense potential and we would be unlikely to see it if they didn’t have access to a good education,” Navsaria said.
“It’s very much at the heart of “’the American Dream.’”
