Serving the Haltom City community has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and our public safety is my absolute top priority. I have worked in our community since 1999 and have had the opportunity to meet so many of our neighbors over the years. Haltom City is truly a special place and our kids deserve a safe environment in which to grow up and be successful later in life. One way to help make this goal a reality is to improve access to quality education in the earliest years of a child’s life.
In my over 20 years of law enforcement experience, I have seen that education is truly our best crime-prevention tool. The most beneficial and cost-effective way to prevent crime is through early intervention. That’s why I support evidence-based early childhood education programs. Resources like high-quality pre-K and child care are proven to increase positive outcomes for kids and reduce long-term crime.
Nationwide, 60 percent of incarcerated people do not have a high school diploma. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national law enforcement organization of which I am a proud member, reported that kids who had access to early learning programs were better prepared for kindergarten and had higher math and reading scores than their peers who did not have access to these supports. Preschool in particular is also linked to fewer behavioral problems and better self-control. Some studies even show a direct link between preschool participation and reduced crime later. These types of programs create a solid foundation for kids to learn and thrive later in their academic careers and steer clear of crime in adulthood.
While early learning is vital to our kids’ future, not every child has access to the services they need. The National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers notes that our country needs approximately 1.6 million more preschool seats needed to serve all children from low-income families. More than half of Americans live in child care “deserts,” where there are more than three times as many children under age 5 as licensed child care slots.
Our lawmakers are currently creating the federal budget for 2024 and appropriations funding for high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care must be included. There are a few key ways to bolster these efforts: Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Preschool Development Grants Birth through Five (PDG B-5), Head Start, and Early Head Start.
These supports work to assist families, particularly ones with low incomes who cannot afford the often high price of care, to increase access to early learning opportunities through child care vouchers and flexible funding. PDG B-5 also provides grants to states in order to improve quality and coordination among providers, as well as increase the number of children able to be served by these programs. Combined, these serve as tools to help create a brighter future for our kids and ease the financial burden for parents.
Congress must act and increase next year’s funding for these critical programs to support kids in Texas and beyond. Let’s stop crime before it starts and create the best future possible for our nation’s kids.
Cody Phillips is the Chief of Police for the Haltom City Police Department. He is a member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and resides in Haltom City.
