Need for More Investment in PA Kids' Early Learning Years

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Many of the building blocks our children need to learn and succeed are set in place - if they are going to be - by the time the kids are eight years old. A just-released report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation reveals the need for more investment in those things kids need both inside and outside the classroom that can get their early-learning years off to a solid start.

According to Joan Benso, president and CEO of the group Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, it is a tough situation for a lot of kids in those years.

"More than 40 percent of our kids are living in a low-income household, meaning those families are struggling to make ends meet, give their kids the education opportunities, the food and nutrition, and the health care they need to develop and be successful."

Benso said giving children a better foundation for learning extends beyond lessons learned in the classroom. Factors such as access to health care can also play a substantial role.

"For Pennsylvania children, they're very lucky to live in a state that passed the Universal Children's Health Insurance Law in 2006, and our governor is making an aggressive effort right now to make sure families know that, regardless of their income, there's a solution for their child and they need to get their kids signed up for health insurance."

Benso said the solution to maximizing a child's learning is to make investments at the state and federal levels.

"Children don't get the chance to redo their preschool years," she pointed out. "When they become a higher priority for policy makers or there's more money to invest in them, what we know is that these investments reap enormous rewards, not only just for them, but to taxpayers later on."

The report also shows that between 2009 and 2011, more than 60 percent of three- and four-year-olds in Pennsylvania were not enrolled in preschool. Pupils who do get to preschool have higher graduation rates, better employment opportunities and lower rates of drug abuse and depression when they get older.

See the full report at AECF.org.

Tom Joseph