Parents as Teachers needs funds

For the second year in a row, state funding has been cut for Parents as Teachers — this time proposed by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, to the tune of $4.1 million.

What does this mean? Fewer children, especially those from vulnerable families, will have access to a proven and effective early childhood development program — one of the few initiatives with research to support its significant return on investment. It’s also one of the best tools in Missouri for achieving long-term success in school.

Such a drastic cut also means a decrease in the number of early intervention screenings, a vital resource to identify health and developmental programs for children. Last year, 93,000 Missouri children received screenings through Parents as Teachers. Of the 14,584 identified with possible delays and referred for follow-up services, 50 percent did so.

As James Heckman, Nobel Laureate economist, said at the Missouri Business Leader Summit held in November at the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis: “Schools matter, but family environment has the most impact on a child’s learning. ... (E)arly interventions have much higher economic returns than later interventions such as reduced pupil-teacher ratios, public job training, convict rehabilitation programs, adult literacy programs ... remediation is a very costly strategy compared to prevention.”

Nixon’s cuts threaten the progress being made in reaching children during the critical, early stages of life.

We encourage all citizens who know and have benefited from Parents as Teachers to call or write the governor and their state legislators to let them know that families, children and our state’s economy depend on receiving services from Parents as Teachers each year. We need to reinstate funding for Parents as Teachers. Our children and our future depend on it.

Betty Albrecht
Chairwoman, Sedalia Area Literacy Council

Sue Stepleton
President and CEO, National Center for Parents as Teachers