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A solid foundation for our children

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Staff

Debates on health care, the economy and several other important issues continue at both a local and national level. Decisions on these topics will no doubt affect our future capacity to prosper. But none of these issues has a more direct effect on this community, and our future, than the well-being of our children. For those of us in the early-childhood field it is easy to see the connection between early care, education and services that promote positive results in our youngest citizens. There is substantive research showing that young children who receive high-quality, early care and services are less likely to need remediation, require special assistance in later grades and are more likely to start kindergarten prepared and ready to succeed. Not only are the results academic, but they also show that these children will be less likely to be arrested, involved in a crime or live in poverty.

The Orange County Partnership for Young Children, your local Smart Start and More at Four provider, has been a part of a nationally recognized early-childhood education system, a system that serves hundreds of thousands of children each year and that has shown proven results in shaping our future.

Smart Start and More at Four as well as the entire early child care system have not been immune to the economic downturn. It is more important than ever to remember that the percentages and numbers we see every day, like unemployment or the cost of health care, are not just numbers. There is a person attached to that number. When funds for early care and education are cut, or programs are not funded, we know that children go un-served. Those un-served children will not disappear. Their success will be limited, gaps will form and they will struggle and so will our communities.

We need to move toward a more solid foundation for the children of our county, state and country. It is important to remember that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders.

MARGARET SAMUELS
Executive director, Orange County Partnership for Young Children

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