On The Chopping Block: Investing In Illinois Preschoolers | Progress Illinois

Advocates for early education are rallying against a proposed 5 percent cut to the Early Childhood Block Grant in the FY 2012 budget with a comprehensive 23-year study (PDF) that shows preschool proactively saves the state of Illinois $530 million a year.

The research touts savings from things like special education and criminal justice costs, while also strengthening the tax base with a better-educated workforce. In FY 2010, a 10 percent funding cut to the same grant meant 8,000 fewer children in Illinois were enrolled in state-run preschool programs. If the proposed 5 percent cut is passed in this General Assembly for the upcoming fiscal year, the option of attending a state-funded preschool would be eliminated for another estimated 4,300 young children, the study said.

The cost-savings analysis was commissioned by the Ounce of Prevention Fund, Illinois Action for Children and Voices for Illinois Children. The data dates back to the late 1980s, when Illinois began to funnel money to preschool programs that were meant to prepare young children between the ages of 3 and 5 years-old for success in K-12 education, something the study calls “an investment.”

That investment, according to the study, has  resulted in tremendous savings for schools and taxpayers alike. In K-12 savings, it’s estimated $21.9 million to $32.9 million are saved in school spending for special education because preschool can often prevent or remedy potential issues through early intervention for things like speech or language problems. Another $2.5 million to $3.7 million is saved in grade repetition -- attributed to school readiness through preschool -- alone. Between $172 million to $259 million is also reduced in government spending -- some $146.8 million of that is attributed to having fewer youths in the juvenile criminal system.

Taxpayers, the study says, also benefit in the $5.2 million in increased income and sales tax revenue generated by disadvantaged children who attend preschool and enter the workforce as adults. Another $2.9 million is saved in unemployment benefits costs from the same category of disadvantaged youth who reach adulthood and gain “improved employment outcomes,” the study said.

via progressillinois.com

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