DelCo Times: Pa. prisons boss: Early childhood education decreases crime
May 26, 2017 by Kathleen E. Carey
CHESTER >> Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel stood before the State Correctional Institute at Chester Friday to stress the importance of investing in quality early childhood education to decrease incarceration and increase the number of productive citizens in society.
“It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men,” he said, quoting Frederick Douglass, before addressing statistics provided in a report entitled “Pre-K Key to Cutting Pennsylvania Prison Costs and Boosting School Success.”
The report, issued by the anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, surveyed almost 600 inmates into the Pennsylvania prison system in April. It showed a clear link between lack of education and parental support and propensity towards crime.
Darby Township Police Chief Regina Price was among the law enforcement and elected officials at the event.
“I know from years of experience that we can’t simply arrest, prosecute and incarcerate our way out of … problems,” she said. “We have to implement strategies to keep people from turning to crime in the first place. Education needs to be a focal point of that strategy.”
She quoted the report in citing 40 percent of state prison inmates have not graduated from high school. On the national level, it’s 70 percent, she added.
“We need our youth to be educated not incarcerated and that process starts early,” Price said.
Delaware County Sheriff Mary Fall Hopper added that many children from low-income families are behind pre-literacy and math skills by the time they enter kindergarten.
“We know from research and from our experience that a key indicator whether or not a person will engage in criminal activity is whether they have completed high school,” she said.
Hopper said 113,000 children in Pennsylvania are eligible for Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs but don’t have access to those because of limits in funding.
Delaware County Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino provided the cost figures.
“We’ve all heard the saying, ‘Crime doesn’t pay’ but like it or not, we all do pay for crime,” he said. “Pennsylvania’s still spending nearly $3.2 billion annually by incarcerating adults. That’s why we have to take every step we can to reduce crime. High quality early education programs make a difference in setting at risk kids in a positive direction from the start.”
Galantino cited a cost benefit analysis that determined investment in these early childhood programs would net a profit of more than $29,000 for every child served.
“Applying this figure to the 8,400 additional children that would be served under Gov. (Tom) Wolf’s Pre-K proposal means our state could reap a return of nearly $250 million over the lifetime of these at-risk children,” he said. “We’ve got a choice today and it boils down to dollars and common sense. If we invest in our kids today, we’ll be better able to maintain balanced budgets instead of devoting billions to pay for crime and corrections in the years to come.”
However, state Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-161 of Swarthmore, presented an issue.
“I’m concerned,” she said. “Gov. Wolf proposed a budget that has a $75 million increase for preschool. Almost 9,000 new kids would have access and they don’t have it now … Unfortunately, the House Republicans slashed the governor’s budget by $50 million and zeroed out the home visiting program.”
State Rep. Jamie Santora, R-163 of Upper Darby, said the package approved by House Republicans still includes a $25 million increase and that there were concerns that spots weren’t being filled in the early childhood education programs due to space.
Carol Austin, executive director of the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney appointee to a board overseeing Pre-K education, said there was no issue with spots being filled, that the program was full of participants.
The budget is now in the hands of the state Senate.
Wetzel said they need to draw upon their fortitude.
“When you talk about preventing crime, let’s prevent the crime of having someone’s parental situation and their zip code dictate their future opportunities – because that’s the reality today,” he said. “When 115,000 kids are eligible for these programs but can’t get them because we don’t have the courage to fund them, that’s a crime in and of itself.
“And the reality is we have a responsibility to these kids,” he said.
Wetzel said the report showed that inmates’ educational attainment and their interaction with their parents dictates their future.
“That’s not right,” he said, “and that’s not anything any of us should be proud … The reality is we have the opportunity to invest in kids early on and get them at level by grade 3 so they can graduate and not only not be incarcerated but (also) go to college and just be the best they can be.”
Newsworks: With prison as backdrop, advocates stump for more Pa. pre-K
May 26, 2017 by Avi Wolfman-Arent
As lawmakers in Harrisburg jockey over Pennsylvania’s budget, a group of legislators and law enforcement officials gathered Friday to stump for more state pre-k money.
And they did it in front of an arresting backdrop — the state prison in Chester city.
“It’s no question how people end up behind us,” said state Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, referring to the barbed wire over her right shoulder. “Because we don’t invest in them.”
Gov. Tom Wolf wants to layer an extra $75 million on top of the roughly $200 million Pennsylvania already spends on government-subsidized pre-K. On Friday, Wolf’s Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel joined local prosecutors and police officials to stump for the money.
“When you hear 115,000 kids are eligible for these programs, but can’t get in them because we don’t have the courage to fund them, that’s a crime in itself,” Wetzel said.
The money in Wolf’s budget plan would give an estimated 8,400 low-income children access to pre-K, according to the administration.
A report released Friday in conjunction with the press event projected that Wolf’s proposal would save the commonwealth $244 million over the lifetime of the children enrolled by reducing special-education costs, boosting future wages, and cutting back on crime.
The report comes from the advocacy group Council for a Strong American, which includes law enforcement from across the country and positions itself as a counterweight to the “tough on crime” movement of the 1990s. The savings calculations were based on “a sophisticated meta-analysis of nearly 20 high-quality, pre-K programs for disadvantaged children,” according to the report.
In April, the state House of Representatives passed a budget bill that included some increases to pre-K funding, but not nearly as hefty a spike as Wolf requested. House Bill 218, which is now before the Senate Appropriations Committee, would increase state pre-K spending by $25 million.
Read the full article here.
WJACTV: Advocates Push for More Funding for Preschool Education
May 21, 2017 by Lauren Petrelli
Harrisburg, Pa. – A new study released two weeks ago suggests Pennsylvania is spending less money on pre-school programs compared to other states.
Gov. Tom Wolf and other organizations, such as Pre-K for PA, hope the study will encourage lawmakers to invest more money into the budget for early education.
According to the report called “Prioritizing Pre-K in Pennsylvania: A State Comparison,” Pennsylvania is one of 27 states along with the Washington D.C. that has decided to invest in high-quality pre-school education.
The report said Pennsylvania began funding pre-school in 2003 due to the Accountability Block Grant and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program, but lawmakers said they need more funding.
The study showed 65 percent of Pennsylvania pre-schoolers eligible for publicly funded pre-school don’t get to attend, leading Pennsylvania to rank number 20 on the previous list mentioned.
Advocates who helped compile the study are now calling on the legislature to join the governor and expand pre-school investments in the state budget by $75 million for the coming fiscal year, as mentioned in the press release.
Reports show the new budget would allow 8,400 more children to benefit from publicly funded, high-quality pre-school next school year.
Advocates for the new budget believe high-quality early education is an investment that will lead to benefits in the state’s social services, reduced crime, and increased earning power, according to the study.
Read the article here.
Delaware County News Network: Local pols honored for Pre-K work
May 6. 2017 by Kevin Tustin
Upper Darby >> The Pre-K for PA issue campaign organization recognized local state leaders on both sides of the aisle for their work in advancing high-quality pre-K opportunities in the state.
Seven state representatives and senators serving Delaware County were honored for being 2017 Pre-K Champions for supporting pre-K funding in the last two state budget cycles which has afforded 6,000 3- and 4-year-olds to programs like Head Start.
The following lawmakers were honored on May 1 at a special ceremony at the Delco Early Learning Center in Drexel Hill: Reps. Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-161 of Swarthmore; Nick Miccarelli, R-162 of Ridley Park; Margo Davidson, D-164 of Upper Darby; and Joanna McClinton, D- 191 of Philadelphia; state Sens. Anthony Williams, D-8 of Philadelphia; Thomas Killion, R-9 of Middletown; and Thomas McGarrigle, R-26 of Springfield.
Pre-K for PA recognized individuals throughout the state.
“It is an honor to be recognized as a Pre-K Champion,” Krueger-Braneky said in a prepared statement. “I promise to continue to be a voice and advocate for our children and families by pushing for policies that expand access and increase the quality of pre-K for all children in the commonwealth, including the $75 million increase in pre-K and Head Start funding included in Gov. Wolf’s proposed budget.”
Davidson said she was honored to receive the award, saying in a May 3 statement on her website that she felt morally bound to support such an initiative.
“Thank you to all the groups that help make the issue of Pre-K funding as simple as it really is: invest in children early to make better, more productive adults later,” she said. “That’s the recipe for success.”
“Children’s brains experience the greatest amount of growth before they are 5 years old,” Davidson added. “We must invest any and all resources to them during this precious time.”
Investment in Pre-K education went up $60 million over the past two years under first-term Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, and with the $75 million proposed in the 2017-18 budget will be a 40 percent increase in funding. The governor’s website said this will allow more than 8,400 more children to enroll in early childhood education programs.
Sharon Herald: Wolf pushes for more early childhood education funding
May 9, 2017 by John Finnerty
HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf was joined by advocates for early childhood education Monday to defend his plan to boost Pre-K funding by $75 million.
Wolf’s budget proposals include $2 billion in cuts where he thinks the state government can manage them. But, he stressed Monday, he thinks the state needs to target increased spending in some areas, including early childhood education.
“It is proven that children who participate in high quality Pre-K perform better in school later on,” Wolf said. “They graduate at higher rates, they learn more now, and they earn more later. Good early childhood education levels the playing field for high- and low-income students.”
Wolf, a Democrat, said the investment pays off in the long run because the societal costs of not preparing children for school far exceed the upfront costs of preschool programs.
It was a point backed up by Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed, a Republican.
Freed said that he won’t suggest the state should increase its total budget spending, but he thinks that the government ought to put its money on efforts that are worth the investment.
About half the inmates in Pennsylvania’s prison system dropped out of school, he said.
“That’s the reason so many in law enforcement support this,” he said. “Studies show the programs work.”
In Wolf’s first two years in office, the state upped spending on early childhood education by $60 million to $147 million for Pre-K and $49 million for a Head Start program. Wolf has proposed a $75 million boost for early childhood education in the coming year.
The additional spending would allow the program to add 8,400 children, the governor’s office estimated.
A budget passed by the state House would also boost spending on early childhood education, but provides $50 million less than Wolf has proposed.
House Republican caucus spokesman Stephen Miskin said there’s a consensus at the Capitol that the state should spend more on early childhood education. Republicans aren’t sure that the amount the governor is proposing is appropriate because it’s unclear that even if the state releases $75 million in funding that preschools would be able to ramp up quickly enough.
“We felt like a measured approach is the way to go,” he said.
There are a total of just over 20,000 children already enrolled in Pre-K counts programs using state funding.
That includes children enrolled in Pre-K programs and the Head Start supplemental assistance program. The Pre-K programs include families with income of less than 300 percent of the poverty line, said Casey Smith, a spokeswoman the Department of Education. For a family of 4, that eligibility limit is about $72,900, according to Education Department guidelines. The Head Start initiative is targeted at poor families, those with incomes at or below 100 percent of the poverty line.
Pennsylvania doesn’t spend as much on early childhood education as many other states, said Joan Benso, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, an advocacy group working to boost early childhood education.
“Pennsylvania is lagging behind,” Benso said.
On a per capita basis, New Jersey spends about $3,000 on early childhood education, four times as much as Pennsylvania does, about $682, she said.
“Seventy-five million dollars is a lot,” Benso said. But, the added spending is reasonable when compared to the amount of investment being made in other states, she said. When examining nearby states with similar standards for preschool programs, all of them, except Delaware, spend more per capita on early childhood education than Pennsylvania, she said.
Benso said that while Pennsylvania lawmakers are grappling with difficult decisions in crafting the budget, they shouldn’t delay help for the state’s preschoolers.
“It’s been a long time since people around here said ‘It’s going to be an easy budget,’ “ she said. “Our preschool children don’t have time to wait for the Pennsylvania budget situation to get better. They don’t get a do-over.”
Read the article here.
Public News Service: Report: PA Needs to Invest More in Quality Pre-K
May 9, 2017 by Andrea Sears
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania is continuing to invest in quality pre-K programs for at-risk kids, but a new report says there’s still a long way to go.
According to the report, pre-K lays a solid foundation for success in school and beyond, raising graduation rates, reducing special-ed placements, decreasing crime and saving taxpayer dollars.
Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, says Pennsylvania is one of the 27 states that is investing in high-quality, publicly funded pre-K, and that investment has grown under four consecutive governors.
But, 64 percent of eligible children still are not being served.
“Other states, including our neighbors of New Jersey, Maryland, New York and West Virginia, are all doing a much greater amount of investments,” she says. “Economic competitors like North Carolina are also beating us.”
Pennsylvania ranks 20th in per capita investments in the programs.
Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed increasing state funding for pre-K by $75 million. That would make it available to an additional 8,400 three- and four-year-olds.
But, Benso points out that funding the program for the 113,000 eligible children in the state currently not being served will take an additional $340 million.
“And our hope in the Pre-K for PA campaign is that we’ll move forward in this state in making that investment by the year 2021,” she adds.
She also adds that every dollar the state invests in pre-K returns $4 in savings and benefits.
But Benso points out that the House budget, passed last month, only includes a $25-million increase in funding for it.
“We’re urging lawmakers to push that number up toward that $75 million of the governor’s, and make continued sustained investments so all of our eligible children can benefit from high-quality pre-K,” explains Benso.
Watch the video here.
