Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Police: "Quality Early Childhood Education Prevents Crime"

WCNC did a story on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe and Rock Hill Chief John Gregory's support of quality early childhood education. They said that studies show that children in quality educational programs are more likely to finish school and less likely to commit crimes. They also said that for every dollar spent in early childhood education, the programs generate $16 in savings. From research that my early childhood cohort and I have done, we've found that for every dollar invested, society receives (or saves) up to $20 back. Talk about a good investment.

The two police chiefs are joining Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a non-profit organization that consists of law enforcements officials and prosecutors throughout the country that are urging lawmakers to invest more money into quality early childhood education and after-school programs.

This story reminded me that society truly does use its educational system to try to produce the type of citizens that it wants. As a whole, we would agree that juveniles committing crimes (and adults breaking the law, for that matter) is not a desired ideal for our society.

Link to story and video on WCNC.com

1 comment:

Cathy Lewis said...

This link is also relevant in how it pertains to Dr. Ferguson's course. This is an excellent examaple of community collaboration. These police departments have realized the importance of early childhood intervention to get individuals on the right track for success later in life.