Vote Yes on
2019 Early Childhood Millage
We believe that every child should be provided the best chance to succeed in life. Early Childhood Development programs provide that opportunity.
“Each of us must come to care about everyone else’s children…
After all, when one of our children needs life saving surgery, someone else’s child will perform it. If one of our children is threatened or harmed by violence, someone else’s child will be responsible for the violent act.
The good life for our own children can be secured only if a good life is secured for all other people’s children.”
Lillian Katz, Professor Emeriti of Early Childhood Education, Champagne-Urbana
Why is this important?
Because children are important.
Because parents are a child’s first teacher.
Because 90% of brain development happens by age 5.
Because every child deserves the best chance to succeed in life.
This millage request funds high quality Early Childhood Development services that help parents to raise children who are healthy, safe, and ready to learn. ECD programs support families in one of the most meaningful and challenging periods in life.
In February, the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners (BOC) established the Early Childhood County Committee tasked with studying the status of early childhood programs and services for families in Leelanau County and making recommendations. On August 6th in a bipartisan vote, the BOC voted to place a millage request on the November 5th election ballot asking voters if they would support a 0.253 millage that would raise approximately $728,000 to support the ECC Committee recommendations that will enhance the availability of early childhood services.
The millage, if passed, would allow the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department to offer early childhood services that are universally available to all Leelanau County families and are individually tailored to strengthen each family. Using the award-winning Parenting Communities framework, Leelanau Early Childhood Development programs will benefit families from pregnancy to kindergarten.
The primary services would include, but are not limited to; playgroups, parenting, programs, and home visiting. Services will be offered at locations throughout the County at times that best meet family needs. All Leelanau families are invited to participate in any or all program offerings, at whatever frequency and location best suits their needs or interests. All ECD services are offered at no charge to families and are voluntary.
For more information on the impact of Early Childhood Development programs visit:
The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40 (pdf)
The Carolina Abecedarian Project: Groundbreaking Follow-Up Studies
Why Vote YES for Our Kids?
Children’s brains develop and learn more rapidly from birth to age five more than at any other time in their lives. And 90% of brain growth occurs before kindergarten, impacting how children will learn, feel, and behave for the rest of their lives.
We know from decades of research that the early years are critical to a child’s social, emotional, and academic success and parents, their first teachers, need to the tools to do the job. Early Childhood Development Programs support parents in this effort.
Researchers know that the brain development actually slows down after age five so these early years are the most important.
ECD can aid in early identification of developmental delays or disabilities and connect families to many parenting support services for possible solutions.
ECD services can help identify child mental health disorders early, before they can affect other areas of development.
The highest rate of return-on-investment (ROI) in early childhood development comes from investing as early as possible. A small investment now pays huge dividends later.
Our economic future depends on providing families the tools for upward mobility and building a highly educated and skilled workforce. Early Childhood Development services are the most efficient means to accomplish these goals.
Multiple research studies show parents and children who are supported in early childhood result in:
Lower substance abuse rates
Half as many criminal arrests
Better problem solving skills
Lower divorce rates
Less depression
Lower teen pregnancy rates
Lower retention/special education needs
Higher graduation rates
More likelihood to attend college
Higher lifelong earnings
In Leelanau County the costs are enormous -
Early Childhood Development programs have proven to reduce taxpayer costs in special education, and criminal justice expenses (especially the high cost of incarceration).
- The cost of care per youth who comes under jurisdiction and/or referred for programs and services is approximately $10,000 to $11,000 per youth annually.
- If the youth is in need of a higher degree of services, namely residential treatment programming, the cost rises to between $30,000 and $35,000 per youth.
Children who start kindergarten with the capacity and skills they need to fully engage in life are more likely to succeed as adults.
The research, and there is lots of it, also says that kids in school that start behind, stay behind, which also impacts them for their entire lives.
ECD programs give children the best chance to achieve state and national benchmarks for reading, one of the most critical skills learned in schools.
ECD programs give parents the skills they need to ensure that their child is ready to learn when they enter school.
Return on Investment Articles:
- National Conference State of Legislatures (March 1, 2019): “Cost-benefit analyses show that high quality home visiting programs offer returns on investment ranging from $1.75 to $5.70 for every dollar spent due to reduced costs of child protection, K-12 special education and grade retention, and criminal justice expenses.”
- Pew Center on the States, The Business Case for Home Visting (October 2011): Cost $7,271 per child cost = $41,419 total per-child benefit (based on Nurse Family Partnership model).
- Zero to Three, Michigan Finds Favorable Return on Investment for Home Visting (June, 26, 2018): “The analysis ultimately revealed a 138% ROI for the MIHP program.” (Based on the Maternal-Infant Health Program model and Medicaid cost savings).
- James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics: “Early childhood programs pay dividends for life. We see savings as early as kindergarten, reduced burdens on the schools. We see savings in the teenage years. We see a direct ink to higher adult productivity and self-sufficiency.”
- James Heckman, The Lifestyle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program: “The research shows that high-quality birth-to-five programs for disadvantaged children can deliver a 13% per year return on investment…” “Significant gains are realized through better outcomes in education, health, social behaviors, and employment.”
Early Childhood Development is about building a community in which all children grow and thrive in nurturing homes and all parents have access to resources they need to be the parents they want to be.
A parent support home visitor is available (if requested by the parent) to tailor services to the unique and diverse needs of the individual family.
Parent-child playgroups promote social connections between other families.
Parenting support is available in both the home and in the community, and will be scheduled to meet the needs of families.
Linking families to other resources to meet basic needs (e.g., housing, education and employment).
Early Childhood Development is a high-quality early childhood experience that promotes healthy physical and mental growth for all children and their parents.
Parents learn how to achieve their personal goals to better support their families with communication, continuing education, employment possibilities, and childcare.
ECD services assist families in responding to challenges to development (e.g. postpartum depression, family violence, food insecurity, substance use, unstable housing, medical issues, etc.).
Health care needs can be addresses (e.g. enrolling in a health insurance plan; finding a primary care provider, dental provider, or mental health provider).
ECD services help parents identify safety and security issues (e.g., childproofing, other potentially dangerous situations).
ECD services share information about prenatal/postpartum care, nutrition, immunizations, exercise, and effects of smoking in the home, managing stress, and other things that may affect child development.
Leelanau County will be able to build a strong foundation of childhood development services for all families that strengthen the talent pipeline, and promote sustainable long-term economic prosperity for families and their children.
The Early Childhood Development Services millage request is bi-partisan efforts to ensure all children have the best start in life for life-long success.
The Leelanau County Government currently does not fund universal Early Childhood Development Programs and Services. Passing this millage request ensures that these programs will be available to all.
There are the healthy outcomes:
Improved prenatal care
Reduced pre-term birth
Improved breastfeeding duration
Increased access to and completion of recommended wellness exams (physical and dental)
Decreased emergency room visits due to injuries
Decreased investigated and substantiated child abused and neglect
Improved measures on assessments such as parental stress and protective factors
Improved employment and economic self-sufficiency and decreased reliance on social support programs
Earlier identification of developmental delays and earlier intervention
Improved school readiness
Leelanau County Vital Statistics Natal Data (2017)
Just over 1,000 kids 0-5 years old in LeelanauOf approximately 175 births per year:
40% of births are to Moms on Medicaid
30% of births are to single Moms
12% of Moms smoke during pregnancy
6.5% of babies are born at low birth weight
3.7% of babies are born to teens under age 20
28.5% of Moms have less than adequate prenatal care
Objectives of the program
The Leelanau Early Childhood Development program (LECD) is designed to meet best practice models and adapt to the needs of today’s Leelanau families prenatally through kindergarten age.
It will deliver services that help family members develop and maintain the research based five factors:
- Social connections
- Parental resilience
- Social-emotional competence of children
- Knowledge of child development and parenting
- Concrete supports in times of need that promote healthy lives
The primary service include, but are not limited to, playgroups, parent programs, and home visiting (with a request from the parent) which are offered at locations throughout the County and scheduled to meet family needs. Additionally, LECD staff will collaborate service delivery with area efforts such as the Laundry Project, Baby Pantry, libraries, etc.
All LECD service providers are supported with best practice trainings and supervision and have experience in the field of child development, parenting and infant mental health. The expectation is that all service providers support families with responsive, culturally sensitive and high quality relational support, current and research informed information, linkages to helpful additional supports, and are adaptive to the families needs and interests.
All Leelanau families with young children are invited to participate in any or all program offerings, at whatever frequency and location best suits their needs and interests. All services are offered at no charge to families and are voluntary.
The health department has administered a home visiting program for children up to one year of age who have Medicaid insurance for the past 23 years, and has contracted to provide home visiting services through the Parenting Communities program. The home visiting recommendations from the Early Childhood County Committee would expand these services to all Leelanau County children from birth to age 6.
Early Childhood Development services provide multiple opportunities for parents to discuss issues that may range from normative questions around co-parenting stresses, sleep, health care, typical developmental progression to worries about health care, housing and instability due to income, violence, housing, etc., and any other questions or concerns.
Parents develop a relationship that makes them comfortable asking questions, and trust that they are receiving credible information from a trained professional. They have an opportunity to think about the information provided and ask future follow-up questions.
Playgroups and community events offer parents and children opportunities to build relationships with other families. Over time, many parents develop life long friendships with parents they met in playgroup. These friendships provide support throughout the lives of the parents. Social support is considered one of the key buffers that can build resilience and ensures healthy development.
With the high cost of living in Leelanau County both parents find that they need to work just to survive. Early Childhood Development provides parents with the important essential skills they need to ensure their children are healthier and ready for school. Especially in the limited amount of time they have today for their children.