GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS AND CANADIANS......Economic Aspects of Kids and Crime

James Heckman, winner of the Nobel prize in economics in the year 2000, has said:

"...investing in disadvantaged young children has a high economic return.  Early interventions for disadvantaged children promote schooling, raise the quality of the work force, enhance the productivity of schools, and reduce crime, teenage pregnancy and welfare dependency." 

 • Early childhood is the most important period for influencing the lives of children, youths and adults.

• A dollar invested in early childhood development yields 3 times as much as for school-aged children and 8 times as much as for adult education.

• Each year in the U.S. and Canada, a total of several million children are subject to trauma.

• The impacts of trauma can include physical and mental illness, learning disabilities, aggression and addiction.

• The cost of unresolved trauma is incalculable.

• When people with unresolved trauma become parents, often their ability to successfully parent is compromised.  Parent support and family support interventions can break this cycle. 

 Dave Park, Economic Emeritus of Vancouver Board of Trade, created this 97 page Economic Aspects of Kids N Crime Report 2010.  It spells out both the cost of offering interventions and support and the cost of NO interventions.  

 http://www.boardoftrade.com/files/PDF/Policy/2010/EconomicAspectsOfKidsNCrime13sept10.pdf

Link to view Dave Park's Report Summary powerpoint.

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AePNlI2yr4-JZGNtOWh0a3dfMWZ4bXgzc2Rj

This current, research based and evidence based information contains both the statistics of AND solutions for addressing these social determinants of health.  
The question that governing bodies need to answer:  
   WILL GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS SUPPORT CANADIANS DESCRIBED IN THIS DATA? 

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