Balancing Return on Public Investment and Return on Financial Investment in Early Childhood Program

07/28/2023

Balancing Return on Public Investment and Return on Financial Investment in Early Childhood Program

The tighter we cling to the norm of effectiveness the smaller the tasks we’ll take on.
Parker Palmer, American author and educator

Thanks to Karen Foster-Jorgensen, Exchange Leader and early childhood business consultant, for sharing insights from a conversation with Rob Grunewald, Economics and Public Policy Consultant, including a look at balancing financial sustainability, quality early education services and increased wages/benefits for early childhood professionals. She writes:

You can likely imagine the two of us enjoying our conversation "preaching to the choir" on the importance of a wide range of funding models necessary to meet the diverse needs of communities and families across the continent!

Return on public investment in early education is measured in both short term early learning success and in life-long productivity and quality of life. Owners of early childhood businesses, small and large, also need return on their financial investment to sustain quality growth and continue to be a viable service resource for families, ensuring quality care and education in every community.

Return on investment of both public dollars and private dollars is key to successfully building a diverse nationwide network of quality early education programs where public funding can work alongside and through independent non-profit organizations and privately owned early childhood businesses.

Creative public/private partnerships are leading the way in bringing new funding streams to organizations with proven track records of utilizing public and private grant funds to sustain quality education as well as financial stability for the organizations.

The Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank website offers a range of research and findings on economic issues of early education, including the essay “Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return” by then Director of Research Art Rolnick and Rob Grunewald, which launched a conversation among researchers, policymakers, and educators about the importance of investing in high-quality early childhood education. Today, Minneapolis Federal Reserve staff and experts across the Federal Reserve System contribute to this ongoing conversation about one of the more pressing educational, social, and workforce issues facing the nation’s economy.

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