Investing in early childhood education could reduce the amount the state spends on its corrections system, one advocacy group said Wednesday.
The Lansing office of national nonprofit Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is urging state legislators to continue funding early childhood programs in order to curb future crime.
"Kids that have a better start have a better opportunity at being successful at school as opposed to turning to a life of crime," said Byron Konschuh, Lapeer County prosecutor and member of the state's Fight Crime executive committee.
For next year's state budget, Gov. Jennifer Granholm initially recommended cutting $7 million from a $117 early childhood budget. The House did not propose any early childhood cuts, according to the House Fiscal Agency.
The Senate has proposed a cut of $111.4 million, said Kathryn Summers, chief analyst for the Senate Fiscal Agency. However, she said, the Senate was working with May revenue estimates, which were significantly lower than the January revenue estimates Granholm and the House used. For instance, school aid fund estimated revenue dropped by $732.8 million to $10.5 billion, she said.
Investing in early learning could save the state about $500 million in prison costs, according to Fight Crime. It said 79,000 adults are incarcerated in Michigan, costing about $2 billion annually.
"There's a huge connection between literacy skills and the juvenile court system," Konschuh said.