Our community faces a “gap” of early care and education program slots for eligible children based on 185% Federal Poverty Level. The community has a shortage of 2,552 spaces for children, birth to two, and 1,451 slots for 3 to 5-year-olds.
What Can We Do?
The Early Childhood System is fragmented and complicated for families to navigate. EPEL is building an equitable system that provides awareness and access for families to resources and programs that support school readiness. Over 150 partner organizations work collaboratively with the mantra of “Together We Can” to ensure families have access to information and resources to develop a strong foundation for children. Join EPEL’s mission to be a part of solution through collective impact. To learn more on how you can make an impact connect with the collaboration.
Return on Investment
University of Chicago Professor James Heckman, helps us understand the Heckman Equation’s need to invest in quality early learning for children in their first five years. For every $1.00 invested, our community will see a $13.00 return.
Why Invest in Early Childhood?
Invest + Develop + Sustain = Gain
“Investing” in resources for families furthest from opportunity nurtures the “development” of cognitive and social skills, “sustained” through education into adulthood, leading to a “gain” for the overall economy of a productive and valuable workforce.
Children with high-quality early learning care experiences are:
- 25% more likely to graduate from high school
- 4x more likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher
- Earn up to 25% more wages as an adult
- Had fewer teen pregnancies
- Committed fewer crimes