This document discusses the importance of early childhood investments for building a strong workforce and economy. It summarizes evidence that: - Many US students lack proficiency in core subjects and skills needed for jobs. Early childhood programs can help address this by laying the foundation for skills development from a young age. - High-quality early education like pre-K has been shown to improve early literacy and math skills, and decrease special education needs and grade repetition, yielding long-term benefits. - Investments in early childhood programs have been found to provide high economic returns through increased skills and productivity, with some programs yielding over $10 in returns for every $1 spent.

1. PARTNERSHIP FOR AMERICA’S
ECONOMIC SUCCESS
Funders of the Partnership
The George Gund Foundation, Ohio Children’s Foundation, Robert Dugger, Society for Human Resource
Management, Paul Tudor Jones and The Pew Charitable Trusts
American business needs employees who
are well prepared—but we’re not getting
them:
• The majority of fourth or eighth graders are not
proficient in both math and reading in any state.1
• In 2009, U.S. 15-year-olds ranked 25th among 34
developed countries in math and 17th in science.2
• Only 25 percent of young people ages 17 to 24
would qualify to serve in the U.S. military.3
The
rest could not meet the physical, behavioral or
educational standards for service—standards similar
to those many industries use.
This failing workforce pipeline can be
repaired, but we have to start early.
The foundation of many skills needed for 21st
-century
jobs is established in the earliest years.4
• Young children’s brains develop 700 synapses—neural connections that transmit information—
every second.5
• By age three, a child’s brain has reached more than 85 percent of its adult weight.6
• Disadvantaged children can start kindergarten as much as 18 months behind their peers.7
Business Case for Early Childhood Investments
“Business is a big
stakeholder in the skill
level and productivity
of the workforce, so it
stands to reason that
business should be
involved in shaping the
early education agenda.
The war for talent will
be easier if there is
more talent.”
— Dennis Lockhart, president,
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

2. Pew Center on the States
www.PartnershipForSuccess.org2
Evidence-based early childhood programs—
such as quality early education, including pre-
kindergarten; preventive health and dental care;
and voluntary home visiting—support children’s
healthy development and help them become
productive adults.
• High-quality pre-k, especially for
disadvantaged children, has been shown
to significantly improve early literacy,
language and math skills8
and to decrease
special education placements by nearly 50
percent through second grade9
and grade
repetition by up to 33 percent through
eighth grade.10
• At-risk children who participated in
one high-quality, voluntary nurse home
visiting program had better cognitive and
vocabulary scores by age six and higher
third-grade test scores in math and reading
than the control group.11
• Children who need dental care but cannot
afford it are far more likely to miss two or
more school days due to dental problems
than those who have access to care12
—absences that can contribute to the
widening achievement gap. Nationally,
an estimated 17 million children ages one
to 18—roughly one in five—go without
dental care each year.13
• Research on disadvantaged children
showed that early education increases rates
of high school graduation by up to 16
percent and college attendance by more
than 50 percent.14
Investments in early childhood
programs yield strong short- and
long-term returns.
• A per-child investment of just $6,692 in
quality pre-k for disadvantaged children
yielded a lifetime societal return of up to
$67,937—an ROI of greater than 10:1.15
• The highest-quality nurse home visiting
programs, over time, yield returns of up to
$5.70 per taxpayer dollar spent in lower
mental health and criminal justice costs,
decreased dependence on welfare and
increased employment.16
• Child care and pre-k professionals spend
most of their earnings locally. States realize
roughly $2 in local spending for each
federal child care dollar.17
• Early childhood programs produce better
economic returns than many traditional
economic development expenditures.18
• Every $1 invested in water fluoridation
yields savings of about $38 in dental
treatment costs.19
Studies also show that
fluoridated water reduces tooth decay 20
percent to 40 percent, benefiting young
and old alike.20
“Investment in preschool programs
for disadvantaged children has
been shown to increase high
school graduation rates … [S]uch
investments can pay off even from
the narrow perspective of state
budgets; of course, the returns to
the overall economy and to the
individuals themselves are much
greater.”­
­— Ben Bernanke, chairman, Federal Reserve Board

3. www.PartnershipForSuccess.org 3
Partnership for America’s Economic Success
1. Get Involved:
• Visit and support high-quality early
learning programs in your community.
• Join state and local organizations working
to advance smart early childhood policies.
• Sign up for the Partnership’s e-mail list
to learn about new evidence, networking
events and new champions.
2. Make the Economic Case:
• Encourage local business and economic
development organizations to include early
learning policies as part of their agendas.
• Sponsor research on access to services in
your community or state.
• Visit the Partnership’s website to learn
about the latest research.
3. Take a Stand:
• Encourage local business organizations
to develop position papers and policy
statements on the benefits of high-quality
early childhood programs.
• Talk with your elected officials about the
value of early childhood investments.
• Attend a Partnership-sponsored conference
or event to connect with other business
leader-advocates and to learn more about
championing early childhood policies.
4. Spread the Word:
• Host a breakfast or lunch to discuss the
importance of early childhood investments.
• Talk to your employees, and share
information with other business leaders.
• Contact the Partnership to find speakers in
your state and for sample speeches, op-eds
and other communications materials.
Entergy Arkansas CEO Hugh McDonald
championed pre-k and the state has increased
funding 17-fold.21
Entergy Corp.’s 2002 report said,
“Providing a high-quality preschool education for
low-income children is an economic imperative.
The benefits to doing so are enormous; the costs
of not doing so are equally great.”22
Viking Industries founder Richard Alexander and
other executives helped persuade the Oregon
legislature to nearly double the state’s investment
in pre-k in 2007 and make a first-time investment of
$1 million in an infant and toddler program in 2010.
Business Leaders Making a Difference
Executives in Denver were key to winning passage of
the city’s 2006 pre-k ballot initiative.
George Kaiser, chairman of BOK Financial
Corporation, advocated for the expansion of early
childhood services in Oklahoma.
“Business leaders need to be the
unlikely allies for children and be
willing to proactively help find
sustainable revenue for early
education.”
­— Mara Aspinall, CEO, On-Q-ity, Boston
Join Us! Four Steps to a Stronger Economy and Workforce

4. Pew Center on the States
www.PartnershipForSuccess.org4
National Partners
National business organizations calling for
investments in early childhood to create the
workforce of the future include:
Center for Energy Workforce Development;
Corporate Voices for Working Families;
Kiwanis International; the Institute for
a Competitive Workforce, an affiliate
of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; the
Manufacturing Institute, an affiliate of the
National Association of Manufacturers;
and the Society for Human Resource
Management.
Add your voice to this important national
discussion about our economy, our workforce
and our country’s future.
Contact us at:
Partnership for America’s Economic Success
(202) 552-2000
info@partnershipforsuccess.org
www.PartnershipForSuccess.org
The Partnership for America’s Economic Success, a project of the Pew Center on the States,
amplifies the voice of business leaders in support of early childhood policies that strengthen our
economy and workforce. The Partnership is managed by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Pew Center on the States is a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts that identifies and
advances effective solutions to critical issues facing states. Pew is a nonprofit organization that
applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate
civic life.
For full citations visit www.PartnershipForSuccess.org.
“It was blindingly obvious
that the most efficient,
fiscally responsible way to
spend money is on young
children. It’s also the most
rewarding.”
­ — J. B. Pritzker, managing partner,
The Pritzker Group, Chicago
9 0 1 e S treet , N W , 1 0 th
f l oor • W ashin g ton , D C 2 0 0 0 4
www . pewcenteronthestates . or g

5. Partnership for America’s Economic Success
5www.PartnershipForSuccess.org
1
The National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2009).
“The Nation’s Report Card.” Retrieved from: http://nces.
ed.gov/programs/coe/2010/section2/table-mat-3.asp and
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2010/section2/table
-rd2-3.asp.
2
OECD (2010), “Strong Performers and Successful
Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for the
United States.” Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/
dataoecd/32/50/46623978.pdf.
3
Mission: Readiness: Military Leaders for Kids. (2009).
“Ready, Willing, and Unable to Serve.” Retrieved from: http://
cdn.missionreadiness.org/NATEE1109.pdf.
4
Heckman, James. 2008, “The Case for Investing
in Disadvantaged Young Children.” http://www.
heckmanequation.org/system/files/Heckman%20Investing%20
in%20Young%20Children.pdf.
5
Shonkoff, J. (2009) “In Brief: The Science of Early
Childhood Development.” Center on the Developing Child.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. Retrieved from:
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/library/briefs/inbrief_
series/inbrief_the_science_of_ecd.
6
Dekaban, A. S., and Sadowsky, D. (1978). “Changes in
brain weights during the span of human life: relation of
brain weights to body heights and body weights.” Annals of
Neurology, 4, 345-356.
7
W. Steven Barnett et al., “Fragile Lives, Shattered Dreams:
A Report on Implementation of Preschool Education in New
Jersey’s Abbott Districts,” (New Brunswick: National Institute
for Early Education Research, Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey, 2001).
8
Frede, Ellen, Jung Kwanghee, W. Steven Barnett, and
Alexandra Figueras. “The APPLES Blossom: Abbott Preschool
Program Longitudinal Effects Study (APPLES) Preliminary
Results through 2nd Grade Interim Report.” New Brunswick:
National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers, The
State University of New Jersey, 2009.
9
Center for Child Development. “LA 4 Longitudinal Report.”
Baton Rouge: Louisiana Department of Education. 2007.
10
Albert Wat. (2010). “The Case for Pre-K in Education
Reform: A Summary of Program Findings.” Retrieved
from: http://www.preknow.org/documents/thecaseforprek_
april2010.pdf (February 1, 2011).
11
D. Olds, et al., “Effects of Nurse Home-Visiting on Maternal
Life Course and Child Development: Age 6 Follow-Up Results
of a Randomized Trial.” Pediatrics 114(2004): 1550-1559,
e832-e845.
12
N. Pourat and G. Nicholson, “Unaffordable Dental Care Is
Linked to Frequent School Absences,” UCLA Health Policy
Research Brief (November 2009), http://www.healthpolicy.
ucla.edu/pubs/files/Unaffordable_Dental_Care_PB_1109.pdf
(accessed January 26, 2011).
13
Kaiser Family Foundation, “The Uninsured: A Primer,”
October 2009.
14
Barnett, W. S., and Masse, L. N. (2007). “Early Childhood
Program Design and Economic Returns: Comparative
Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Abecedarian Program and Policy
Implications.” Economics of Education Review, 26, 113-125;
Campbell, F.A., Ramey, C.T., Pungello, E., Sparling, J., and
Miller-Johnson, S. ( 2002). “Early Childhood Education:
Young Adult Outcomes from the Abecedarian Project.”
Applied Developmental Science, 6(1), 42-57.
Endnotes

6. Pew Center on the States
www.PartnershipForSuccess.org6
15
Reynolds, A., Temple, J., Robertson, D., and Mann, E.
(2002). “Age 21 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Title I Chicago
Child-Parent Centers.” Educational Evaluation and Policy
Analysis, 24, 267-303.
16
L. A. Karoly, M. R. Kilburn, and J. S. Cannon, “Early
Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise”
(Santa Monica, CA: The RAND Corporation, 2005).
17
Warner, M. (2009). “Child care multipliers: Stimulus for
the states.” Ithaca, NY: Cornell Cooperative Extension.
18
Rolnick, Arthur, and Rob Grunewald. “Early Childhood
Development = Economic Investment.” fedgazette,
March 2003.
19
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division
of Oral Health, “Cost Savings of Community Water
Fluoridation” (September 1, 2009), http://www.cdc.gov/
fluoridation/fact_sheets/cost.htm (accessed January 31, 2011).
20
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
“Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control
Dental Caries in the United States,” Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report, Reports and Recommendations 50 (2001): 1-42,
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5014a1.htm
(accessed January 26, 2011).
21
National Institute for Early Education Research. “The State
of Preschool: 2003 State Preschool Yearbook” and “The State
of Preschool: 2009 State Preschool Yearbook.” http://nieer.
org/yearbook2003/pdf/yearbook.pdf#page=57 and http://
nieer.org/yearbook2009/pdf/yearbook_AR.pdf.
22
Jerrold Oppenheim and Theo MacGregor, “The Economics
of Education: Public Benefits of High-Quality Preschool
Education for Low-Income Children,” 2002, http://www.
democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=37&row=1.