🌅 The ROI of Early Childhood Education

SOURCE

Heckman (2006)

WHAT TO KNOW

• Every dollar governments spend on early childhood education (ECE) programs for disadvantaged kids yields a return of $7 to $13 in long-term economic benefits. The benefits include not only greater education and health outcomes for children, but also better employment and higher earnings for parents, along with reduced financial strain on public systems.

WHY IT MATTERS

• ECE programs, like public preschools, Montessori schools, or Head Start programs, help kids develop the cognitive, social-emotional, and physical skills necessary for academic and life success, including literacy, problem-solving, and motor skills. While ECE programs are widely acknowledged as foundational for academic and social development, the programs have also become recognized as a strategy for economic growth.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• New Mexico put its money where the science is back in 2022, when it became the first and only state in the U.S. to offer free childcare to a majority of families. The move has helped lift 120,000 New Mexicans out of poverty and increased wages for childcare providers (16% of childcare providers in New Mexico were living in poverty in 2024, down from 27.4% in 2020). The state legislature has endorsed the success: in its most recent legislative session, lawmakers approved a 21.6% increase in state funding for ECE programs, amounting to an additional $170 million.