Act now to save home visiting!
Write your legislators today and urge them to support home visiting programs!
Home visiting is a research-proven strategy for reaching young children who may not otherwise get connected to more formal, institutional systems of support. These programs, which target low-income, at-risk families, provide strong financial returns to the community in the form of increased graduation rates and decreased crime and welfare dependency rates.
Send an e-mail or a letter to your legislator today and let them know why they should restore funding for home visiting. Here are some points to include in your correspondence:
Restore $3.5 million of funding for home visiting in the state budget: Let’s increase the odds that children from at-risk families will enter kindergarten ready to succeed by continuing to fund early learning programs that work.
Home visiting programs provide strong returns on investment: Although we are in a recession, one means of ensuring long-term prosperity and stability is by investing in research-proven strategies like home visiting.
Economists agree investing early learning is essential: Studies show that getting kids ready for school is the most effective way to support improved academic outcomes in the K – 12 system and prevent costly societal problems such as unemployment and crime. “The real question is how to use available funds wisely. The best evidence supports the policy prescription: invest in the very young, ” says Nobel Laureate economist James Heckman.
For more information about United Way of King County’s Public Policy Agenda and how to get involved, e-mail our public policy team or call (206) 461-3756.
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