Sheriff Jonathon Horton: Congress must continue to support early education programs
Over my two decades of law enforcement experience, I’ve had the privilege to get to know Etowah County and the incredible people who live here. Serving this community is one of the greatest honors of my career. In my daily work, I can’t help but see the amazing potential for our community and the state as a whole. That potential begins with our youngest residents.
That’s why I joined the national law enforcement organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids last year. For more than 25 years, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids has championed evidence-based programs that set kids up for success and prevent future crime.
Research tells us that education is truly our best crime-fighting tool, as 60% of incarcerated individuals nationwide do not have a high school diploma. Notably, children with access to high-quality, affordable early learning have higher reading and math scores, are better prepared for school and have lower rates of behavioral problems than children who do not have access to these programs.
In fact, a study of Alabama’s pre-K program found that students from low-income families who had attended the state’s program were more likely than their peers to be proficient in both reading and math. They were also about half as likely to have a behavioral infraction in school compared to nonparticipants.
That means with smart interventions, we can put kids on the path to graduation and stop crime in its tracks.
Programs like Head Start and Early Head Start aid this goal by working to provide flexible, no-cost early education services to children ages 0-5 from families with low incomes. With a proven track record of success, Head Start participation can lead to improved social, emotional and behavioral development during a key period of a child’s life. They also have a unique model to adapt their programming to best fit the needs of a given local population and provide comprehensive services to children and families.
The most effective way to keep our children and community safe is to ensure these programs are available to as many eligible Alabama kids as possible.
In 2022, Alabama received Head Start and Early Head Start funding to serve 12,235 children, a small fraction of eligible kids in the state. Only 18% of eligible kids were served by Head Start and an even fewer 6% of kids by Early Head Start. By increasing federal funds for high-quality early education, we can serve more eligible families to create a brighter future and a more secure place to live for years to come.
As our federal lawmakers continue to negotiate the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, Congress should seize the opportunity to bolster our future generations through these critical programs. When our kids succeed, we all succeed.
Jonathon Horton is the sheriff of Etowah County and is a member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Sheriff Jonathon Horton discusses early education programs
