As Sheriff for Freestone County, my mission is to keep the families in my community safe. Part of that mission means finding ways that I can help solve problems before they arise. One such problem that I’ve heard of from many concerned residents in our county is the rate of juvenile crime.
As a law enforcement officer I’ve seen too many kids follow the wrong path in life, and there’s nothing I want more than to keep more from going down that same path. That’s why I joined Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a membership organization of police chiefs, sheriffs, and prosecutors who make the case for solutions that cut crime and put kids on the path to productive lives. They have found that one of the best tools to help keep kids on the right path and away from crime is early early care education (ECE) programs.
ECE programs are of vital importance because they help children build a strong foundation from infancy that will help support them throughout their lives. Last year, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids released a report that outlined the short- and long-term benefits of quality ECE in Texas, and the] findings were remarkable.
Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who participated in quality ECE programs performed better in school,were less likely to drop out of high school, and, ultimately, committed fewer crimes. The results were even more distinct for kids from families with low income. By age 26, those participants who spent two or more years in high-quality child care were more likely to graduate from college and had higher salaries compared to those who had been in lower-quality care.
And it’s the quality that is specifically important here. Unfortunately, Texas is currently falling behind. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly half of Texas residents lived in a child care desert where there were three times as many children as there were licensed child care slots. The pandemic only exacerbated this problem, with many child care providers having to close down. As of last year, Texas saw an eight percent decrease in the number of licensed providers, and even those that remained open have had to deal with labor shortages, as Texas has seen a 16 percent drop in the number of child care workers.
This lack of child care not only has consequences for the working families who will have to struggle to find adequate care for their children, but for Texas at large. The estimated financial cost to our state is $4.9 billion a year in lost productivity, earnings, and revenue for the infant and toddler child care crisis alone. What’s worse is the human cost of the child care crisis, as children who lack nurturing, stimulating environments while their parents work may have a harder time reaching their full potential, or worse, find themselves down the wrong path towards crime.
Fortunately, the solution is clear. If the problem we are facing is not enough funding for the expansion of ECE programs, then the solution is to expand that funding. Unfortunately, as of writing this piece, the current state budget being discussed for Texas does not include expanded funding for child care programs.
This is a shame, as the budget does include an increase in funding for public schools and raises in teacher pay, showing that there is concern for the care and education that our children receive. But more needs to be done. In order to help our children build the foundations they need for future success, we need to help them before they enter the public school system. Our state representatives need to include funding for ECE programs so that our next generation is supported from day one.
By increasing the budget for these programs we can help these children reach their full potential, and in turn make Texas a much safer and stronger state.
Jeremy Shipley is the Sheriff for Freestone County, Texas, and a member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.
