Pre-K Our Way Applauds Fight Crime Invest in Kids on Report Supporting Pre-K Expansion in New Jersey

PRE-K OUR WAY APPLAUDS FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS ON REPORT SUPPORTING PRE-K EXPANSION IN NEW JERSEY

“Stronger Preschool Key to Cutting New Jersey Prison Bill and Boosting School Success” Report Outlines the Long-Term Benefits of Providing Pre-K Access to More New Jersey Children

Florham Park, N.J. – Pre-K Our Way, New Jersey’s community-led effort to bring high-quality pre-k to more New Jersey children, applauds the law enforcement leaders within Fight Crime: Invest in Kids for their support of increasing both access to and quality of early education and care throughout New Jersey communities.

In Fight Crime: Invest in Kids’s recently released report, Stronger Preschool Key to Cutting New Jersey Prison Bill and Boosting School Success, the organization states that early education leads to “less child abuse and neglect, better performance in school, fewer high school drop-outs and, ultimately, fewer crimes committed and a reduction in the number of prisoners.”

The report determines that expanding New Jersey’s high-quality preschool program to districts outlined in the 2008 expansion law – which was never implemented – would provide 39,500 additional New Jersey children with access to pre-k and would save New Jersey $1.2 billion over the lifetime of these children.

Because of these numbers, the report states: “New Jersey law enforcement leaders applaud this effort [to expand pre-k]. As law enforcement leaders, our job is to put those who commit serious crimes behind bars in New Jersey. But we all agree that a better and less expensive way to stop crime going forward is to prevent as many young children as possible from growing up to be involved in crime in the first place.”

The report also states “Policymakers in our state have an outstanding opportunity to offer preschool to thousands more New Jersey children whose parents seek it...The choice for New Jersey is simple: Pay for high-quality early education programs now, or pay far more later for the costs of crime in New Jersey. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids New Jersey supports current efforts to increase the access to and quality of early education and care throughout our state.”

“Pre-K Our Way thanks New Jersey’s law enforcement leaders and Fight Crime: Invest in Kids for their research and conclusion that high-quality pre-k has a positive and lasting effect on the lives of our kids and families, and that a strong foundation for future success comes from access to high-quality preschool,” said Sam Crane of Pre-K Our Way. “It is time that we end an unfair system in New Jersey where a child’s access to pre-k is dependent upon their zip code.”

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