Child care allows parents to work and employs thousands of York County residents. It is a critical component of the York County economy. More importantly, it is the foundation for future learning. Countless research shows the best way to ensure that a child will succeed in school, graduate from high school and become a productive member of society is to start them out on the right path. The research of James Heckman, Nobel Laureate economist from the University of Chicago, concluded that the greatest return on investment is from programs that are focused on young children. The 40-year High Scope Preschool study found that for every $1 invested in high-quality early childhood education we can save $7 on costs associated with special education, teen pregnancy, high school dropouts, juvenile delinquency, welfare dependency and prison.
Dr. Craig Ramey of Georgetown University found that for every 50 kindergarten children who experience difficulty in learning pre-reading skills, 44 of them will not be reading on grade level in third grade. School performance in third grade can predict, with 90 percent accuracy, which children will go on to drop out of school. Therefore, it is imperative that we ensure that every child enters kindergarten with the skills necessary to succeed. CCC does just that by working with parents to develop their skills as their child’s first teacher, partnering with all types of early childhood education programs to improve their quality, and working with business and community leaders and organizations to support young children and their families.