STARS Montana Early Education Program

"This investment will make life more affordable for families and allow more parents to make the choice to go back to work, knowing their child is safe and cared for."

"There’s such a need for it. We’ve got waiting lists in every classroom."

It’s as good a time as any to be asking: What works to prevent child abuse and neglect in Montana?

"Montana’s first-ever investment in publicly funded preschool has already opened doors of opportunity – for the kids who will now enter kindergarten ready to learn and for teachers looking to grow in their career," said Governor Bullock. "We are building a stronger future for Montanans, which is why we must keep working to ensure high-quality early childhood experiences are a reality in communities all across our state."

FVCC’s Early Childhood Center was one of 17 preschool providers in the state that received a grant from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services last summer to implement a 2-year pilot preschool program.

"Empowering communities to collaborate, identify connections, and use approaches that work for their needs and for families being served is essential to making effective progress, particularly on ECE workforce needs."

Rep. Don Jones, a Billings Republican, criticized the program’s proportion of high-needs students, as defined by the grant — those from poor families, with special needs, who need mental health support, whose families are homeless, tribal members or those with teen parents.

"Preschools really help children learn letters and pre-reading skills that will help when they arrive in kindergarten. They set students off on the right foot."

Children with high-quality early learning opportunities are more likely to read at grade level, graduate from high school, and earn more money. Every $1 spent on high-quality preschool programs creates $7 in future savings to the communities and states that invest.

"CPC graduates have gone on to have higher incomes, lower rates of serious crime and incarceration and lower rates of depression, compared to those who participated in other early interventions."