OR Head Start - Fight Crime: Invest in Kids

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Head Start Cuts Crime In OregonIntroductionHead Start reduces later crime through a highqualityearly education and child developmentprogram for low-income 3- and 4-year-olds.Children in Head Start programs receivecomprehensive services, such as high-qualitypreschool education, health, nutrition, socialand emotional development components, andparental involvement. Head Start uses NationalPerformance Standards to ensure a qualityprogram for each child in Oregon andthroughout the nation. A nationallyrepresentative study found that the averagequality of Head Start programs is higher thanthat of other early care and educationprograms. 1Research Shows That Head Start AndOther Quality Early EducationPrograms Cut CrimeResearch proves what law enforcementprofessionals have learned from experience.Studies show that at-risk kids who attendHead Start and other high quality prekindergartenprograms are less likely tocommit crimes as adults than similar childrenwho do not attend pre-kindergarten.Head Start: Research shows that adults whoattended Head Start as children are less likelyto commit crimes than adults from similarbackgrounds who did not attend Head Start. Alarge national survey of Head Start graduatesfound that graduates were 8.5 percent lesslikely to be later arrested or charged with acrime than their siblings who attended otherpreschool programs. 2Evidence from Other High-Quality PreschoolProgramsHigh/Scope Perry Preschool: The High/ScopeEducational Research Foundation initiated in1962 a random-assignment study of the PerryPreschool Program in Ypsilanti, MI. The PerryPreschool Program was a high quality, one- totwo-year long early educational program withan in-home parent coaching component. Theresearchers found lifetime crime preventioneffects of the Perry Preschool Program:• By age 27, the at-risk childrenexcluded from the program were fivetimes more likely to grow up to bechronic lawbreakers than those whoattended. 3• At age 40, those who did not attendthe Perry Preschool Program were twiceas likely to be arrested for violent crimesthan those who attended. 4• Those who did not attend the PerryPreschool Program were also more likelyto abuse illegal drugs. Children left outof the program were four times more2 FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS OREGON
Quality Pre-KindergartenCuts Future CrimeAt-risk 3 & 4-year-olds randomly excluded from theHigh/Scope Perry Preschool program were fivetimes more likely to become chronic offenders(more than 4 arrests) by age 27.Chronic lawbreakersat age 277%Those who attendedthe preschoolprogramlikely to be arrested for drug felonies,and seven times more likely to bearrested for dangerous drugs than thosein the program. 5Chicago Child-Parent Centers: Chicago’sfederally-funded Child-Parent Centers haveserved 100,000 three- and 4-year-olds since1967. The program is a center-based earlyintervention program that provides educationaland family-support services to economicallydisadvantaged children.A study comparing 989 children in the Child-Parent Centers to 550 similar children whowere not in the program showed that childrenwho did not participate in the program were 70percent more likely to be arrested for a violentcrime by age 18. 6 This program will haveprevented an estimated 33,000 crimes by thetime the children who have attended theprogram reach the age of 18. 7Furthermore, the Chicago Child-Parent Centerscut the abuse and neglect of children in theHead Start Cuts Crime in Oregon35%Those who did notattend the preschoolprogramSchweinhart, et al, 1993program in half. 8 The reduction of abuse andneglect is significant in itself, but it is alsocompelling because of the potential impact onfuture criminal behavior. Studies show thatchildren who were abused or neglected aremore likely to be arrested as juveniles, and tocommit crimes as adults, than children whowere not abused or neglected. 9The research is clear: high quality prekindergartenprograms like Head Start reducecrime and drug abuse. Cutting crime in Oregonis important to the social and economic wellbeingof the state and its citizens. According tothe U.S. Department of Justice, 180,750 crimeswere committed in Oregon in 2003, including10,520 violent crimes 10 .Crime in Oregon 1110,520 violent crimes68 murders or nonnegligent manslaughters1218 rapes2851 robberies6,383 assaults170,230 property crimes28,626 burglaries122,615 larceny –theft18,989 motor vehicle theftTotal: 180,750 crimes committed in Oregon in 2003Over 30,000 juveniles are arrested every year inOregon. 12 Despite the best efforts of lawenforcement, these crimes will continue to becommitted unless serious measures are takenbefore – not only after – crimes occur. TheHead Start program prevents crime by helpingkids get the right start in life.Head Start Helps Children SucceedIn addition to crime prevention, Head Startalso helps children succeed in school. Everyday, kindergarten teachers witness thedifference between children who receivedhigh-quality pre-kindergarten and those who3
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