All young children must have the same opportunity to develop their heads, hearts and minds. Why? Because investing in our youngest citizens isn’t just good for individuals — it’s critical for the future of our nation.
Research shows that inclusive, high-quality programs for all young children reap dividends as child development translates into economic gains for everyone later on. For every year that we fail to invest in our youngest learners, the future holds more kids with failing grades, a higher number of high school dropouts, more children who end up in jail, increased health care costs and fewer productive members of the workforce.
Often, we think and talk about early education and care as a second-place option for families who can’t afford for one parent to stay home and do the child-rearing; yet in today’s economy, a clear majority of parents work and need high-quality child care.
So why are only about half of the roughly 8.1 million 3- and 4-year-olds in the United States currently enrolled in preschool? The answer is that, for most families, the cost of high-quality child care is simply unaffordable. Child care costs more than rent in all 50 states, and more than college in a majority of states. In Pennsylvania, the average cost of infant care is $10,640 per year and only one in four Pennsylvania families can afford it, according to the U.S. Department of Human Services.
This has to change — and it is our collective responsibility to change it.
As public servants, we put the highest priority on making early education and child care universally available and accessible. We need government to work toward providing equal access to inclusive, high-quality early childhood education and care, with a goal of universal preschool for every child in America locally, statewide and nationally. Our country’s future depends on it.
According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, a national investment that caps families’ child care expenditures at 10 percent of their income — like the one Hillary Clinton has proposed — could put $7.55 billion of new economic activity into Pennsylvania’s economy. A typical Pennsylvania family with an infant could save $3,910 on child care costs thanks to the cap. That would free up their post-child care annual income to spend on other necessities.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has addressed the issue; he recently released more details of his plan to make child care more affordable. Unfortunately, Mr. Trump’s plan is built upon tax deductions that don’t help families who can’t afford child care (i.e., most families). Working people cannot deduct something they cannot pay for in the first place.
At the state level, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed an additional investment of $60 million in early childhood education in his 2016-17 budget. But funding for this measure was cut in half in the final version. Investments in high-quality preschool must grow at a much stronger pace if we hope to reach the 120,000 at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds who miss out on preschool opportunities in Pennsylvania each year.
At the local level, there are more than 20,000 3- and 4-year-olds in Allegheny County without access to publicly funded, high-quality, inclusive pre-K. Last year, Pittsburgh City Council’s Women’s Caucus introduced legislation that was passed unanimously to create the Office of Early Childhood for the city of Pittsburgh, which works to align services that affect young children — services ranging from licensing to health and safety.
This is a good start, but funding remains a missing piece of the equation. Pittsburgh needs an additional $20 million annually to even begin to meet the goal of enrolling every income-eligible child in high-quality preschool — and that only includes covering those who are not enrolled all. It doesn’t begin to cover helping parents who are struggling to pay for private out-of-pocket child care.
We know that early education works. Study after study confirms the vast benefits it provides. So why is it consistently underfunded? What outdated modes of child care are we holding forth as a society, and when are we going to get real about where our priorities should be?
If we can make public investments in stadiums and casinos, we can invest in children and families. It is time to unite as a country, a state and a city to make the critical investments in early childhood education that our children and our future generations need. Every year we underfund early childhood education creates another generation of hearts, souls and minds lost to random chance. And we can’t afford that.
Hold your elected representatives accountable for maximizing investments in early childhood education and care — a universal, American family value.
Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak represents the Fourth District. Erin McClelland is the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 12th District.
First Published: October 16, 2016, 4:00 a.m.