The Washington Post just completed a week-long series on early childhood issues. Dylan Matthews, a student at Harvard and a researcher at The Washington Post, interviews some of the leading national early childhood policy experts, including:
Defintiely worth the read!
Excerpted from the The Society for Human Resource Management’s publication Meeting the Workforce Needs of the Future Means Meeting the Developmental Needs of Young Children Today.
Today’s infants and toddlers are tomorrow’s business leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, health care workers and other professionals. For the next two decades, they will be learning how to think, act and compete in the global marketplace. By investing in our youngest children now—when those investments will yield the highest societal returns—we can build the workforce we need to keep America competitive in the years ahead.
Early Action Pays Off Today and Tomorrow: Just as in business, investing early in our workforce pipeline ensures the best outcomes.
Early Learning Left Out: Building an Early Childhood System to Secure America’s Future, 3rd Edition answers a simple but critically important question: Are we investing enough in the learning and development of our youngest children? The conclusions indicate that the investment in early learning has decreased despite overwhelming evidence that early childhood is the critical time for investment.
Read the report: State Investments in EC Voice for America’s Children June 2010
A study of 4,000 working parents found that employees with child and dependent care supports provided by their employer report far less stress and significantly better health than employees without access to these benefits. These same employees are more engaged in their work and are less likely to report lost work productivity due to stress.
From today’s Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast
An analysis by the Foundation for Child Development finds that the number of children living in poverty this year will climb to 22 percent, the highest in two decades, according to USA TODAY. In 2006 nearly 17 percent of children were living in poverty, and the recession could wipe out virtually all economic progress for children since 1975 when the foundation began analyzing data. The foundation’s Child and Youth Well-Being Index tracks 28 key statistics that include health insurance coverage, parents’ employment, infant mortality, and preschool enrollment. The report projects that the percentage of children living in families with an “insecure” source of food has risen from 17 percent in 2007 to 18 percent in 2010, an increase of 750,000 children. Up to 500,000 children may be homeless this year, living in shelters or places not meant for habitation. Researchers note their projections have limitations, since complete statistics from government and other sources were available only through 2006. However, according to Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, “Most of the report is an advertising tool for more government programs and spending, which are pretty ineffective in increasing child well-being.”