In these tough budget times, it’s more critical than ever to ensure kids across Oregon have what they need to be Great by Age 8 – and we need ongoing, statewide leadership to get it done. Because when Oregon kids flourish, the entire state does, too.
That’s the message Children’s Institute took to Gov. Tina Kotek in a virtual meeting on April 7. Members of our board and advocacy committee talked with the governor about the state’s early childhood priorities for the next biennium – and call on her to be a vocal and visionary leader for young children.
Kali Thorne Ladd, CEO of Children’s Institute, opened the discussion by linking children’s well-being to the economic and social prosperity of everyone in the state, a key priority for the governor.
“I believe children are central to shared prosperity,” she said. “We’re talking about kids, but also so much more than kids. We’re talking about the state all of us love.”
The panel thanked Gov. Kotek for specific progress she has made for young children in Oregon, including shifting housing policy to better fund family-sized units and preventing suspension and expulsion of kids in preschool and child care by protecting funding for Every Child Belongs.
Our focus over the next few years is ensuring early learning and care programs and systems are working well for young children and families and prioritizing young children in behavioral health.
These goals are closely connected to the work of Gov. Kotek’s Prosperity Council to advance the state’s economy and her new Early Childhood Care and Learning System Roundtable to chart a path to universal preschool. Thorne Ladd is co-chair of the state Roundtable.
“I spent most of my life in the corporate world, and taking care of children is good for business,” said Mike McNally, a CI advocacy committee member and founding board member of the Willamette Valley Wine Foundation. “It’s good for the prosperity agenda you have, and it’s a great investment.”
When we give young children access to quality care and learning experiences, we set them up for a lifetime of confidence and success. By age eight, we know if children are on track to thrive in school and life – or likely to fall behind and play catch up for years to come. Research shows investing in early childhood benefits not only children and families but the entire state with higher literacy and graduation rates, a stronger workforce, lower health care costs and a better economy.
It’s especially important to protect early childhood programs in challenging budget years, advocates said.
“I truly believe that investing in young children is one of the smartest and most impactful things we can be doing right now here in Oregon,” said Sara Kerr, a member of CI’s advocacy committee. “It’s the right thing to do for kids and families. It makes good economic sense, and I think it’s going to make everything else that we’re trying to do together that much easier and that much more impactful.”