All of Us Have a Stake in the Future of Every Child’s Life.
We are a collaborative team of early childhood advocates dedicated to the vision of bringing comprehensive, high-quality services to children and their families. We believe that our future depends on investing in children, for it is in the hands of our children that the communities of tomorrow will be built.
View a copy of our Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020-21
It Takes a System
It Takes a SystemFamilies should have equal access to the resources their children need for successful early development. A comprehensive early childhood system coordinates and integrates these resources into three domains that pertain to early childhood:
1. Family Support & Education
2. Health & Well-being
3. Learning & Development
This system of resources can be complicated, fragmented and uncoordinated, leaving families frustrated and unable to get the help they need. The Early Childhood Council of La Plata County strives to provide a structure through collaborative partnerships to impact these services in each domain.
This work cannot be done without the cooperation and support from our community partners who understand that addressing the needs of the whole child and their family is essential to building a healthier community.
Investing in Early Childhood Makes Economic Sense
The long-term impacts of investing in high-quality early childhood translate into significant public and private benefits, with returns far exceeding the costs. Research shows that investing in early childhood development provides 10% per annum return to society through increased personal achievement and social productivity. The most economically efficient time to develop skills and social abilities is in the very early years when developmental education is most effective.
A child who falls behind may never catch up. Research shows that when young children don’t receive quality child care, nurturing, nutrition, parental/caregiver interaction, and stimulus during this crucial period, the child may be left with a developmental deficit that hampers his or her success in preschool, kindergarten, and beyond. Today’s record rates of high school drop-outs, lack of college graduates, increasing rates of obesity and chronic diseases, rising crime and a growing underclass are real costs to communities and society. Prevention through early childhood development is more life and cost-effective than remediation.
Investing in early childhood simply makes economic sense. Yet while scientists and economists agree that investments in children’s early growth and development offer the best return on the dollar, early education receives far less funding than K-12 and higher education.
