Washington (March 31, 2009) – Corporate Voices for Working Families and Business Roundtable are calling for a renewed emphasis on high-quality early care and education and a commitment to focusing resources on the first five years of life.
In a policy paper released today – “Why America Needs High-Quality Early Care and Education” – the two business advocacy organizations outlined six interconnected principles for assessing existing early education programs; considering philanthropic priorities; evaluating policy proposals on pre-kindergarten, Head Start and other programs; and formulating policy positions. The policy paper is available on the Corporate Voices for Working Families Web site: www.cvworkingfamilies.org.
“The investments in early childhood education provide significant benefits to individuals, employers and our nation’s economy,” Donna Klein, president and founder of Corporate Voices for Working Families, said. “Concentrating on the first five years of life is essential for meeting the education and development needs of young people and helping American businesses remain competitive in today’s challenging global economy.”
“The commitment by forward-looking leaders from business, government and education to high-quality early childhood education provides an opportunity to make sure children enter school ready to learn,” Edward B. Rust, Jr., chairman & CEO, State Farm Insurance Companies, and issue leader, Pre-K-12 Education, Business Roundtable, said. “Investments in quality early education, with a particular focus on children most at risk, are a wise and safe investment in our nation’s success.”
“Why America Needs High-Quality Early Care and Education” was released in conjunction with the W.K. Kellogg national forum, held in Washington March 30-31. The Corporate Voices for Working Families and Business Roundtable statement of principles, originally developed in 2003, was updated to reflect the latest research and trends involving early childhood education, lessons from K-12 education reform efforts and applicable lessons from the nation’s experience in building a voluntary system of higher education.
About Corporate Voices for Working Families
Corporate Voices for Working Families is the leading national business membership organization representing the private sector on public policy issues involving working families. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, we improve the lives of working families by developing and advancing innovative policies that reflect collaboration among the private sector, government and other stakeholders.
To create bipartisan support for issues affecting working families, we facilitate research in areas spotlighting the intersecting interests of business, community and families: workforce readiness, family economic stability and flexibility in the workforce.
Collectively our 50 partner companies, with annual net revenues of more than $1 trillion, employ more than 4 million individuals throughout all 50 states. Visit our Web site at www.cvworkingfamilies.org.
About Business Roundtable
Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with more than $5 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and pay nearly half of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal government. Annually, they return $133 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy.
Business Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with $70 billion in annual research and development spending – more than a third of the total private R&D spending in the United States. Visit our Web site at www.businessroundtable.org.
