Recently I had the opportunity to present my views on the value of early childhood learning programs to key legislators at our State Capitol in Augusta. As Lincoln County Sheriff, it is a priority to me to let our state’s lawmakers know that I, along with many of my law enforcement colleagues, strongly believe funding for early learning programs like Head Start and PreK must be preserved. In fact, based on the impact and value of these programs and their return on investment, I believe they are worthy of increased funding so they can grow, and participation in them can expand.

Members of Maine’s law enforcement community like me have a unique perspective on the positive impact of early learning programs. We have come to know what they mean to Maine kids, especially at-risk kids, and their ability to succeed in school and in life so they avoid a life of crime. We have also come to understand how these programs benefit the safety of our communities and their ability to be the kind of safe, quality places in which people want to live, work, and raise their families. They also benefit Maine economically.

Research confirms that these programs help to prevent crime, resulting in safer communities. A forty-year study of Michigan’s Perry Preschool Program found that at-risk kids who did not participate in the program were five times more likely to enter a life of crime than kids who did. And a 19-year follow-up study of Chicago’s Child-Parent Center program that has served more than 100,000 three-and four-year old children over the last 40 years found that kids who did not participate in the program were 70 percent more likely to have been arrested for a violent crime by age 18.

Early learning programs also provide great costs savings to our communities and our state in the long run. When at-risk children are able to participate in high-quality early learning programs like Head Start and PreK, they are more likely to stay in school and graduate on time, saving our state and taxpayers money on several levels -- less remediation is needed throughout the education pipeline, grade retention is greater, and special education needs and their associated costs are less.

Additionally, Head Start alone can return, on average, a net profit -- the economic benefit minus costs -- to society of nearly $17,000 for every child served, per Kids Count data. Pre-school programs have an even greater economic benefit, with a return on investment of $30,000 per child served, according to a cost-benefit analysis of state and district early education programs.

The potential economic savings through corrections and judicial costs are also important to mention. Maine spends approximately $188 million annually on housing, feeding and keeping surveillance on our criminals and the 2,100 adults incarcerated in state prisons. This does not include the financial, not to mention emotional, costs to the more than 1,600 victims of violent crime in Maine each year.

Furthermore, when funds for early childhood education programs are cut, we see lesser participation. Each year, the Maine Kids Count report tracks the well-being of Maine children. The latest data from 2015 indicates approximately 3,900 low-income Maine children were served by Head Start programs across the state. This is down by about 500 kids from just three years prior due, in part, to previous state budget cuts. We know there are another 9,500 Maine children eligible for Head Start, but not enrolled in a program due in part to the lack of capacity. This clearly tells us that Maine has a large, unmet need for our most at-risk youngsters. Cutting funding for programs like Head Start will not help us address these real needs, but will instead move us backward by depriving our youth and our state of the immense and broad benefits these programs deliver.

Law enforcement leaders across the state support evidence-based approaches that give our kids, at the youngest stages of development, the ability to become contributing members of society, rather than a huge drain on public coffers. High-quality early learning programs like Head Start and Pre-K are approaches that work. They reduce the likelihood of a child becoming involved in crime as a teen or adult, keeping our communities safer, and saving taxpayer dollars in a variety of ways.

For these reasons, I urge Maine lawmakers to, at a minimum, sustain funding for these tremendously effective programs, and I encourage them to consider increasing the funding levels of, and participation in, early childhood learning programs in the biennial budget they are currently considering.