The first in a series of statewide forums to generate
support for a campaign advocating for early childhood education was held yesterday at Stepping Stones Museum for Children.<br><br>

The Connecticut Commission on Children is leading the campaign, Early Childhood Partners, which attempts to coordinate programs and services for Connecticut's approximately 270,000 children under age 6.<br><br>

Liz Brown, Commission on Children director, said coordination is needed to more efficiently use a diminishing pool of public funds for early childhood
education services.<br><br>

"It seems like a no-brainer, but investing in early childhood goes up against other priorities," Brown told the participants in the forum.<br><br>

The state spends about $288 million on early childhood programs -- not including Medicaid spending -- and that represents 2 percent of its $13 billion budget.<br><br>

Brown said she hopes the forums spur a grass-roots movement that directs the public's attention to the importance of investing in the education of children before entering kindergarten.<br><br>

Nationwide efforts to "close the achievement gap" between minority and white students and the demand for skilled workers have prompted the need for such
a movement, Brown said. She noted the time is right because Gov. M. Jodi Rell is a proponent of early childhood education.<br><br>

"It's critical to invest in that early stage," said Laura Lee Simon, chairwoman emerita and founding member of the Commission on Children. Simon said economic studies have shown that such investments reap a 17
percent return.<br><br>

Forum participants said a goal of the Early Childhood Partners campaign is to shift funding from incarceration programs to those designed to prevent children from getting into trouble. The state spends $40 million a year
to serve 64 juveniles in the state's detention center in Middletown, Brown said.<br><br>

The forum heartened Norwalk participants, they said, because a local initiative, Kids Start Smart, is a model for the state campaign. Kids Start Smart publishes a Norwalk Resource Directory, which has information on "everything a parent could need," said George Hensinger, an initiative member.<br><br>

Betsy Bain, a District E Common Council member and co-chairman of Kids Start Smart, said the statewide campaign would be "stronger voice in crafting public policy" and lobbying for funding.<br><br>

"We'll never have enough money to answer the requests of all the individual programs," Bain said. "We have to look to see how we can build on our resources . . . in a more cost-effective manner."<br><br>

Agencies such as the United Way of Norwalk & Wilton, the Norwalk Board of Education and the Norwalk Housing Authority were represented at the
forum.<br><br>

Rhonda Kiest, executive director of the children's museum, said the next step in the campaign is to develop a local strategy. "The group will reconvene and begin to explore this topic in a more concentrated way." <br><br>