Neighboring States See Economic Value in Early Childhood Education. Research Brief. Volume 97, Number 1

As the push for economic stimulus has states contemplating economic development in new and different ways, Wisconsin may find it helpful to note the unconventional efforts of its neighbors. who have positioned themselves to reap potential long-term economic benefits from high quality early childhood care and education. Business leaders in Minnesota and Illinois joined with advocates for children to raise the visibility of the issue and to make the policy link with economic development. In Wisconsin, there is currently no policy framework to prioritize high quality early childhood education as an economic development tool, and business leaders have yet to emphasize the issue. This report suggests that Wisconsin policy and business leaders looking for new tools to grow the state economy and effectively educate the future workforce may find the experiences of its neighbors instructive. [Additional funding for this research was provided by the Brico Fund, the Buffet Early Childhood Fund, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, the Faye McBeath Foundation, Rockwell Automation, and the Weiss Family Fund.]