As a Kirkland resident and constituent, I am writing to thank Rep. Ross Hunter for maintaining funding for ECEAP in the recently released House budget. Hunter has always been a true champion for early education and his recent heroic efforts to stave off cuts to ECEAP despite the budget crisis need to be lauded.

ECEAP is our state’s premier preschool program. It provides a range of comprehensive education, health, nutrition, parent involvement, and family support services to at-risk children and their families in communities throughout our state. More than 8,000 children attend ECEAP in Washington, with another 19,000 eligible for the program, but unable to attend because of a lack of funding.

Study after study has found that children who have attended high quality early education programs like ECEAP are more likely to be ready for school, more likely to graduate from high school, and have a reduced need for costly special education and intervention services.

Economists have found that high quality early education generates a Return on Investment (ROI) that could make even hedge fund managers envious. For every $1 invested in programs like ECEAP, Washington reaps a ROI ranging from $7-$9.

James Heckman, a Nobel Laureate in economics at the University of Chicago, said recently that “every dollar invested in early childhood education returns 10 cents annually for the life of the child. An average $8,000 annual investment in high quality preschool for one child, for instance, using the formula for compounding simple interest, would thus amount to a $789,395 return assuming the child lives to be 65 – or nearly 100 times the initial investment!

It is quite clear from an economic standpoint that we can gain money by investing early to close disparities and prevent achievement gaps, or we can continue to drive up deficit spending by paying to remediate disparities when they are harder and more expensive to close.

ECEAP programs in our state help get children ready for school. They work with children that have the most challenging learning delays; make sure that children are immunized and receive nutritious meals; find emergency shelter for homeless families; develop the skills necessary for parents to become self-sufficient and employed; and make sure that children who were neglected, abused, or with little or no hope have an opportunity to live up their fullest potentials.

I am hopeful that with champions like Rep. Ross Hunter behind us the program can continue to grow.

Joel Ryan, executive director, Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP