Economic Gain
Presently, Nebraska’s investment in early care and education lags far behind public expenditures on special education, behavioral health and criminal justice – all costly services intended to compensate for problems that begin early in children’s lives.
Yet, a growing body of evidence shows that high quality early care and education programs for children at risk can generate government savings that more than repay their costs and produce returns to society that outpace most public and private investments.
Studies of model early care and education programs demonstrated as much as a $17 return per each $1 invested. This return accounts for public savings on criminal justice, education and welfare, and gains from increased earnings and higher tax revenues. Given the current economic climate, Nebraska not only stands to benefit from investing in high quality early care and eaducation – we cannot afford not to.
"As a society, we cannot afford to postpone investing in children until they become adults, nor can we wait until they reach school age – a time when it may be too late to intervene." –Dr. James Heckman, University of Chicago, 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences.
