Reading, Writing and Hungry

A new report by the Partnership for America's Economic Success highlights the importance of food security and nutrition for early learning; Reading, Writing and Hungry: the consequences of food insecurity on children, and on our nation's economic success.

From the summary:

Food insecurity during a child’s earliest years can cause potentially significant physical, mental and psychological damage to the individual. Furthermore, the impact on the successful healthy development of these children has long-lasting negative implications for the national economy. Food insecurity imposes indirect costs in a variety of ways. For example:

• Food insecurity increases the likelihood that a child will be judged to need special educational services; children who are not only food insecure but are classified as hungry are twice as likely as those who are not hungry to be receiving special education services. By the third grade, children who were food insecure in kindergarten experienced a 13 percent drop in their baseline reading and math test scores, compared to their food-secure peers.
• Children whose families experienced food insecurity while the child was a toddler are 3.4 times more likely to be obese at age 4 ½, which itself carries a number of costly health outcomes.
• Food insecurity impairs proper physical growth and development in young children and creates pathways for poor health. Poor health limits children’s ability to grow and learn, thus reducing adult earnings and increasing adult health costs.

Research shows that prevention is cost-effective and federal nutrition programs that mitigate early childhood food insecurity, such as WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) and the Food Stamp Program, offer far greater returns than many remedial programs. For example, WIC saves between $1.77 and $3.13 in Medicaid costs for each dollar spent, and every five dollars of food stamps benefits creates nearly double that amount in local economic activity. Investment in alleviating early childhood food insecurity helps family budgets today, and it is one important factor in creating the workforce we need for the future.

Check out the brief and learn more at www.PartnershipforSuccess.org.

Have a wonderful holiday and a fantastic new year!

Other media reaction to the Minnesota budget deficit

A variety of media outlets are commenting on the newly announced $5.2 billion deficit between now and the end of 2011 (not counting inflation). A few to note:

Dane Smith, president of Growth and Justice, wrote an editorial for the StarTribune: Three fundamental facts for Minnesota, where he questions the notion that small government is best for our economic woes.

The StarTribune also had an editorial, State shouldn't spurn federal aid, criticizes Governor Pawlenty for recent comments indicating unwillingness to take federal money to help the deficit and quotes an economic adviser to John McCain that “extending unemployment insurance benefits, food stamps and aid to state government would be the most effective spurs to economic growth.”

Minnesota Budget Bites is a great resource for understanding the logic behind the deficit numbers.

Long story short, this deficit cannot be fixed by the shell-games of the past. This is a long-term problem that requires a long-term solution. While it is important to examine all options, why not strategically spend in areas what will actually save money down the road? Early care and education is critical to building the foundation for our future.

Ready 4 K Comments on State Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ready 4 K says during poor economy it is the wrong time to dump state’s ‘best earning stock’ – early childhood care and education

St. Paul – With the state facing a major budget shortfall, the governor and legislative leaders have indicated that every spending area is on the table for cuts as they look to solve the state’s budget shortfall. But Ready 4 K President Todd Otis urged state leaders to use a ‘scalpel’ rather than a ‘meat cleaver’ as they move through the budget process.

“A bad economy is exactly the wrong time to dump the best earning stock in your portfolio. If the Governor and legislators want to get Minnesota on the right track, they should continue investing in high quality early childhood education and care.”

Research by economists has shown that the public return on strategic investment in quality early childhood education and care can return up to $12 for every $1 invested. This research also demonstrates that at-risk children who participate in high quality early learning are more likely to graduate from high school, earn higher wages as adults, and are less likely to need remedial education, use public assistance or be involved in crime.

“Minnesotans know the incredible return on investment they receive by investing in quality early care and education, and if there’s one budget area that should be off limits for cuts, it should be early care and education,” Otis continued.

The state faced an over $5 billion deficit in the 2003-04 biennium. Despite accounting for merely one percent of the state budget then, early childhood care and education was cut by sixteen percent. Funding for children in the early childhood area still has not fully recovered from those cuts.

Ready 4 K is a non-partisan non-profit organization, building the foundation for our future through quality early care and education. More information on Ready for K is available at www.ready4k.org.