Fight Crime, Invest in Kids CT Brief

Invest in early education now, save on prison costs later. Did you know that Connecticut spends $696 million a year on prison costs? Investing in quality early care and education could save one-quarter of that cost, about $175 million. In the Nutmeg State, over 22,000 adults are behind bars, or one in every 121 Connecticut adults are in prison. Incarcerating one of these prisoners costs $90 per day or over $32,000 a year. Quality early education programs help children learn to get along with others and begin school ready to succeed. Research shows that high-quality early education programs for at-risk kids later result in lower drug use, increased high school graduation and college attendance rates, fewer families receiving welfare, and lower crime instances.