As states and the nation confront difficult budget decisions, many children’s programs are facing drastic funding cuts. Paying Later: The High Cost of Failing to Invest in Young Children, a new issue brief from the Partnership for America’s Economic Success (PAES), demonstrates why budget cuts to children’s programs result in much higher short- and long-term costs due to increases in child abuse and neglect, high school dropouts, teen pregnancy, criminal activity, drug and alcohol abuse, and other health problems.
The brief aims to help policy makers and the public fully evaluate the consequences of today’s funding decisions. PAES encourages states to “pay now” by investing in evidence-based early childhood programs rather than “pay later” to curb often preventable societal ills. Failing to support programs that can prevent or alleviate adverse life outcomes represents an expensive missed opportunity, argues PAES.
