Amanda Adkins: Invest early in our children

Research well-documents that 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed before the age of 5. Therefore, it is of critical importance to focus on and invest in early education and health care interventions and outcomes for kids. The Institute for a Competitive Workforce, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, found in a 2010 report that “for every dollar invested today, savings range from $2.50 to as much as $17 in the years ahead.” Understanding that Kansas children are critical to our future, Gov. Sam Brownback made improving kindergarten readiness a key measure of his economic “road map.”

Future economic growth will be encouraged if business takes a role. Business leaders need to understand early childhood goals and programs. More important, they need to become a partner. Brownback’s road map promotes high-quality early learning experiences through public-private partnerships. He has made the commitment to take part in recruiting businesses to play a role, and to join them in review of the results that business and government are getting for early childhood investments.

The growth of these programs will best happen if decisions and investments are in large part made locally. There already is state-level public investment being made by the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund to “seed” programs in targeted communities most at risk for poor development and early learning.

There has been some criticism that Kansas made a decision to not apply for President Obama’s Race to the Top program (“Missed opportunity for Kansas kids,” Oct. 5 Opinion). Though Kansas does meet the requirement for “trail-blazing effective reforms” in early childhood education, we want our path to be our own, not determined by the federal government. In addition, I applaud our governor for recognizing that pursuing this program, absent a discussion with the Legislature, would violate the state constitution in committing us to a state funding match should we be selected.

Kansas should continue to make these investments in children. Brownback has made this a priority as reflected in his road map. Our state’s future is dependent on solutions being found in our own communities, as driven by our own leaders, not the federal government.

This story was originally published October 13, 2014 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Amanda Adkins: Invest early in our children."