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Economics of Early Childhood Development and Care: The cost of not doing enough
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Charlie Coffey
Executive Vice President
Government & Community Affairs
RBC Financial Group
Building a Comprehensive Early Childhood Development System
Conference
Hilton Québec Hotel
Québec City, Québec
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Bonjour tout le monde! Good morning everyone. Special greetings
to Senator Landon Pearson, Parliamentary Secretary to the
Prime Minister, John Godfrey and Minister Jim Rondeau.
Ray, thanks very much for the marvelous introduction. I've
learned a great deal from the community-based early childhood
development project - Better Beginnings, Better Futures in
Ontario, and especially enjoyed reading the highlights of
lessons learned. This is a research model with widespread
application across the country and one that has your indelible
mark on it.
It's a pleasure to visit the capital city of la "Belle
Province" today - a city, province and people that places
tremendous focus on children and family. I remember hearing
the announcement about where the Centre of Excellence for
Early Childhood Development (CEECD) would be located…and
I also remember not being surprised with the choice of Quebec
and Montreal.
As you may be aware, one of Canada's communications pioneers,
the late Marshall McLuhan, often shared his thoughts about
children. You may recall his remark about changing infant
diapers that goes like this: "Diaper backwards spells
repaid. Think about it." Many interpretations have followed
over the years - I prefer the one that suggests there are
short/long-term "benefits" for taking care of children
early on.
After hearing Fraser Mustard speak, the man who originally
got me and RBC involved in supporting early childhood development,
not to mention Dan Keating, who among many credits, can claim
the distinction, Royal Bank Fellow of the Canadian Institute
for Advanced Research (CIAR), they are hard acts to follow.
However, a comprehensive conference about early childhood
development is more than the biological and psychological
dimensions - it's also about integrating an economics dimension.
And it's my job this morning to shed more light on the economics.
In doing so, I'm convinced you'll see the interconnection
with Fraser's and Dan's themes - I'm also convinced you'll
see there's a cost to not doing enough.
As I glance around this room, I can't help but appreciate
the power of the collective voice plus the value of raising
the volume and the bar when it comes to investing in early
childhood development and care. From policy/service planners,
child development researchers and provincial/federal representatives
from coast to coast, to children's advocates from the United
States and Italy, each and every one of you is part of the
collective voice. And it's the same collective voice that
will help ensure more business people are in the room at the
next early years conference or the next event in your community
and communities across the country.
There's no doubt the time is now to convince corporate Canada
to take a more active interest and leadership role in supporting
early childhood development and care. The key to convincing
business revolves around building and selling a compelling
case - demonstrating that investing in our children is good
economics - good business.
The obvious place to start is with my involvement. I'm involved
in supporting early childhood development and care because
it's an economic investment that requires more federal, provincial
and municipal government action. RBC can help influence public
policy and public opinion. After all, the development of human
capital at an early age is key to a successful economy.
I'm involved because it's an economic investment that needs
corporate/business action. As a business leader, I have a
responsibility to push the envelope on high priority issues
- and what's more important than children?
I'm also involved because it's an economic investment that
requires more community action - kids are everybody's business.
Integrated early years programming is one of the best investments
communities can make. As a children's advocate (and parent),
the only way to make a difference is to get involved and get
others involved!
That's why I accepted the role as Chair of the newly founded
Council on Early Child Development and Parenting in Ontario.
The Council is a community-based network organization committed
to the advancement of human development through enhancement
of early child development. It's designed to help communities
establish, in association with primary schools, early child
development and parenting centres. This initiative will involve
school boards, public health, municipal government and community
groups. Fraser Mustard is spearheading this initiative - and
how does anyone say anything but "yes" to Fraser.
Just ask Robin Williams, Jane Bertrand and Jean Clinton, who
are members of the Council…and here today.
The bottom line is that business leaders need to step up
to the plate. They need to hear and talk about research findings
to get the message about what's at stake: current and future
customers, employees and stakeholders, a healthier workplace
(work/life initiatives), increased productivity, more attractive
returns and corporate responsibility. The contribution of
early childhood development and care to the creation and nurturing
of human capital cannot be ignored. Here's some research at
work that shows investing in children is good economics and
good business:
- "For every $1 spent on child care there is a $2
economic benefit. The benefit comes back through increased
tax revenues, and decreased social, education and health
costs."
- "A child's brain development in the first six years
of life sets the foundation for lifelong learning, behaviour
and health."
- "If the first few years of life include support for
growth in cognition, language, motor skills, adaptive skills
and social-emotional functioning, the child is more likely
to succeed in school and later contribute to society."
- High-quality early childhood education produces "long-term
positive outcomes and cost-savings that include improved
school performance, reduced special education placement,
lower school dropout rates, and increased lifelong earning
potential. Not only does high-quality early childhood education
make a difference for children, it matters to their employed
parents. Employers increasingly find that the availability
of good early childhood programs is critical to the recruitment
and retention of parent employees."
- "It's estimated that work-life conflicts cost Canadian
organizations roughly $2.7 billion in lost time due to work
absences (this figure does not include indirect costs such
as replacement of the employee during the absence, overtime
costs or reduced service or productivity.)"
Last fall, a US-based conference "The Economics
of Early Childhood Development: Lessons for Economic Policy",
provided a unique opportunity for economists, public policy
analysts, professionals and educators to share research on
early childhood development. James Lyon, first vice president
at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, conveyed a very clear
message in his opening remarks: "One of the charges of
the district Fed banks is to provide analysis and insight
into regional economic development. State/local governments
have been debating how to best use public funds to encourage
economic growth, and research has shown that early childhood
development programs should be viewed as economic development."
This matters to business.
Jacques van der Gaag, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and
Econometrics, University of Amsterdam also makes a strong
case for the economic connection in his paper, "From
Child Development to Human Development." He speaks to
the intrinsic link between early child development (ECD) and
human development (HD) and suggests that four critical "pathways"
link ECD to HD. "The first pathway runs through education.
Interventions during the early years of a child have multiple
benefits for subsequent investments in a child's education.
The second pathway is through health. Like education, investments
in health are an investment in human capital and have long-term
benefits. The third pathway links the notion of improved social
behavior (as a result of being enrolled in an ECD program)
with the formation of social capital. And in the fourth pathway,
ECD is linked to HD by the potential of ECD programs to address
inequality in society. Ultimately, education, health, social
capital, and equality are linked to economic growth and…human
development." van der Gaag argues that because human
development is so closely associated with early childhood
development, ECD is the natural starting point for investment.
This matters to business…(and to the Council I mentioned
earlier).
In this month's edition of the magazine Today's Parent, there's
a child care report card by John Hoffman, that begins with
the question: How good is daycare in your province? Not surprisingly,
Quebec won big time, mainly because of its higher spending
on child care and higher number of child care spaces. I'm
sure most of this audience knows that Quebec launched an early
childhood education policy in 1997/98 that resulted in "a
56% increase in child care spaces by 2001, higher training
standards for staff and the $5-a-day fee" (recently increased
to $7-a-day)."
And how does Hoffman's article say Canada stacks up with
other countries? "The Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) sent a team of international researchers
here to assess Canadian child-care programs in the fall of
2003…part of an ongoing effort to review early childhood
education and child care policies/services in industrialized
nations. While the report is still under wraps, based on the
OECD's research on what makes good child care, Canada is not
likely to stack up well. Canada is considered well behind
many European countries in national investment in child care
as well as quality." This also matters to business.
More research and references, including the piece, "Never
too early to invest in children: Early childhood education
and care matters to business!" can be found on the Voices
for Children web site that some of you may be acquainted
with - www.voicesforchildren.ca.
You may also want to check out the March 2004 edition of Policy
Options magazine, as it presents four articles that explore
child care and early childhood development. And speaking of
child care, on May 20th the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba
launched its report, Time for Action: An Economic and
Social Analysis of Child Care in Winnipeg, that's an
excellent read. It gets the economics!
Facts, figures, and return on investment are the kind of
language that business understands. And the message is clear:
we all bear a burden for failing to provide the "right
start" to our children. We bear it as parents, taxpayers
and businesspeople. We need more business leaders to view
early childhood programs and child care as an economic issue,
not just an education or social issue. It's an important economic
issue because early childhood development and care enables
parents to work, learn and train while helping to prepare
children for a brighter future. We must make this wise investment
today to ensure a competitive workforce and economy tomorrow…and
beyond.
We know that early childhood development and care has earned
its place on the political landscape - as part of current
leadership/campaign platforms and government agendas. The
time is now to push the envelope on an agenda that must move
forward to the next level, which means making ECD and child
care a national/universal priority, while targeting the children
most in need…and which means putting more money directly
into high quality child care. This investment should be a
coordinated effort to ensure program quality and to serve
more children and families, including aboriginal children.
Business has a key role to play in helping to nudge government
action on early childhood development and care issues - in
helping to influence public policy. Business also needs to
support governments in developing national/regional early
childhood development and care programs to replace the "patchwork"
of projects and initiatives that are in place today. Since
the underlying goal of corporate responsibility is prosperity
for Canada, the private sector should increase its support
of children, learning and education. Prosperity depends on
well-developed minds - intelligence, imagination, ingenuity
and innovation. Advocating sound policy and establishing innovative
strategies for early childhood development and care contributes
to Canada's path to prosperity.
Let's talk about bold, innovative strategies and action plans,
as business should strive to be family/child-friendly employers…when
it comes to children, there are unlimited possibilities:
- workplaces that employ on-site/near-site child care centers;
- child care subsidies;
- after-school programs;
- parental networks, information and referral services;
- investing in/sponsoring targeted children's initiatives;
- workplaces that broaden their scope re job sharing, flexible
hours, extended parental leave, and family care leaves;
- workplaces that encourage representation on children's
advocacy boards.
These are all elements of a sound business strategy, and
they will aid in developing human capital, promoting a healthier
workplace and creating a competitive advantage.
Let's talk about business, government and community partnerships…there's
a whole host of unlimited opportunities for business investment
in early childhood development and care - in employees and
families. We must continue to listen to the voice of our employee
partners (primarily through work/life initiatives) in order
to help meet objectives and expectations.
Partnerships are an essential piece of the early childhood
development and care investment. Corporations are part of
the community. Best practices are community-based. And best
practices are about collaborative community leadership and
almost always about partnerships. What a great way to build
a civil/civic society and promote shared responsibility.
Perhaps we'll see business well represented at the Child
Care and Early Learning Conference in Winnipeg - November
2004. Entitled "Child Care - For a Change: Early
Learning and Child Care for the 21st Century", this
conference may likely interest many of you. As the promo says:
"Today we know that early learning and child care is
a social and economic driver for many interconnected issues:
it's integral to lifelong learning and healthy child development,
and to a sound and prosperous economy; it has significant
implications for women's equality, effective labour strategies,
and ameliorating poverty; and it contributes to flourishing
cities and strengthens social equity. High-quality child care
and early learning strengthens our social foundations - it
benefits children, women, parents, families, and communities
- ultimately, it benefits all Canadians. It's expected that
the (international) conference will play a key role in influencing
public policy and public perceptions about early learning
and child care and help set the agenda for the next decade."
Whether we're talking about the biological, psychological
or economic dimensions of early childhood development and
care, there are common threads. To paraphrase Dan Keating:
research is needed to identify links in development, implementation
of programs needs to be evidence-based in a continuous improvement
model and rigorous procedures for monitoring progress need
to be established for understanding to become part of ongoing
public dialogue.
Early childhood development and care thrives on interdependence
and collaboration in order to work and work well - it requires
leadership at all levels and business leadership at a high
level. That's why people like Laurie Miller Brotman, Sandra
Griffin, Mary Gordon, Gwen Healey, Kathleen Kiely Gouley,
Amanda Mayer, Marinella Paciello, Loreen O'Byrne, Carol Slater,
Brian Boles, Deborah Bryck, Andrea Kelland, Marcel Lauzière,
Rosella Melanson, Carol Crill Russell, Tony Diniz, Marianne
Drew-Pennington, Ann Robertson, Jan Sanderson, Rob Santos,
Marc Thibault, Lori Walker, Paul Pelletier, Judy Watson, Ailene
Wittstein, Robin Wright, Katia Bureau, Deb Paterson and Carol
Rowan are here - that's why all of you are here - that's why
I'm here.
In closing, it's time for the business leadership voice to
be heard in greater numbers. "In today's world, where
education and skill levels determine future earnings, the
economic and social costs to inpiduals, communities, and the
nation of not taking action on early childhood education are
far too great to ignore, especially when the benefits far
outweigh the costs." RBC Financial Group must also continue
to do its part!
As Margaret McCain and Fraser Mustard state in The Early
Years Study: Reversing the Real Brain, "A child's
brain development in the first six years of life sets the
foundation for lifelong learning, behaviour and health."
There's no question that early childhood development and care
is good economics and good business. After all, there's a
cost to not doing enough!
Merci beaucoup…thank you very much. Now let's hear from
you!
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