"Easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."

Two Saturdays ago, I received an email from United Way colleague Caroline Ross on why investments in early childhood development (still) matter. I mention the day because Caroline is the type of professional who cares so much about the questions and issues that permeate her work, that it's no surprise she thinks about them on Saturday evenings, while others (including one blogger who shall remain nameless) are off playing Guitar Hero.

But I digress...Here's what was bothering her:  "With our nation in the midst of a deep recession and alarming numbers of Massachusetts families facing homelessness, job losses and hunger, why does it matter that United Way invests resources in early childhood assessment?"

It's a valid question. With experts predicting Massachusetts will have the 5th largest job loss in the country this year, and family homelessness up 22% this year in Boston-- can we spare resources to invest in research-based screening and child assessment tools in early childhood programs?

It comes down to this, Caroline concludes (and I'm summarizing here): We can't choose today's urgent needs over tomorrow's because the two are inextricably linked.  Today's crisis will have repercussions for years if we do not have a plan that addresses both immediate and long-term needs. A third of all Massachusetts children are exposed to risk factors in their early years which threaten their healthy social and emotional development, and subsequent success in school.

"Growing up with adversity can damage children’s developing brains and lead to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, physical and mental health. Child assessment provides the means for early childhood professionals to identify developmental problems in children, determine the types of interventions that a child may need and evaluate whether those interventions are working," Caroline writes.

In other words, Child assessment tools help to mark and remove developmental barriers (obstacles often caused by poverty, unstable living conditions, and other recession related factors) in children early - before they cause lasting damage. In addition, Study after study has shown the public cost-savings to investing early.

United Way's network serves more than 20,000 children under 5. Four years ago, we engaged Brandeis University to conduct a randomized, anonymous survey of our agencies to understand not just what they did, but how they approached their work with children. We learned that only half of United Way funded programs reported using appropriate child assessment tools. Today, the percentage of United Way early childhood programs using these best practices has jumped to 82%. What that means is that as a network, these agencies are getting better at spotting problems early and providing the sort of support that will help children enter school ready to learn, regardless of any financial strain on their parents, crises in their homes, or risk factors they're experiencing.  To pull through this recession, our community can't just focus on putting fires out, we have to have the proper tools to rebuild for future generations.