Cases where mom knows best

Before she became a sheriff, Sue Rahr was a mom.

She talked about the connection between the two roles on Wednesday and about her realization that what's best for kids and families is also good for public safety and could ultimately save money.

Rahr joined Police Chiefs Scott Kimerer, of Burien, and Rick Kieffer, of Normandy Park, in a news conference at the Educare Early Learning Center in White Center. In Monday's column I wrote about the state's new plan for improving early learning and making it available to most Washington children.

As budgets at every level of government are being slashed, Rahr and the others made a plea to state and federal lawmakers to give priority to funding early-childhood learning.

After Wednesday's news conference, I asked Rahr about her commitment to early education.

"True crime prevention begins when children are born," Rahr said. Community intervention through high-quality early-learning programs "is the thing that is going to help children stay on track."

Getting kids ready for kindergarten is a must. "If they have success in kindergarten and first grade, chances are they are going to be successful in school," Rahr said. If they get off track, society has a problem that's very hard to correct.

Rahr is a member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, an organization whose membership consists primarily of sheriffs, police chiefs and prosecutors across the country and around the state who support early education. In addition to the reduction in crime that comes from giving more kids a good start, the organization says, top-quality early education could save some of the $1.2 billion Washington state spends on special education each year.

That estimate is based on the work of economist Clive Belfield, which suggests high-quality early learning could cut 10 percent off the cost of special education in the state. Belfield is co-director of the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University.

Fight Crime's report cited Belfield's analysis of research showing that though some children have disabilities that require special-education programs, good early ed could cut the number of children placed in special education because of classroom-behavior problems or developmental delays. And it would reduce the number of kids repeating grades, which would save more money.

One of Rahr's two sons struggled with attention-deficit disorder, so she understands how lost a parent can be before understanding what is causing a child's behavior and how to address it.

She believes educating and supporting parents is a central part of assuring quality early learning.

"To just out of hand criticize parents is not useful," she said. "We need to give parents the tools they need. We need to give them the education they need so that if they have a child who has some of these challenges, they will be better equipped to deal with them."

Success requires understanding why a child is having problems.

"You can't punish a child out of a medical condition," Rahr said, "and you can't punish a child out of not knowing how to read or write."

Money is always an issue, but in this case, doing the right thing is good economics, too.

The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study, the most cited longterm comparison of at-risk kids who got high-quality early learning and those who didn't, shows savings over time of $16 for every dollar spent on early learning. Crime, education and welfare costs all were lower.

Rahr said it's a quality-of-life issue for all of us.

Her son turned out well, and she gives credit to the support her family got. At about that time, she became commander of the gang unit in King County and saw up close what happens when distressed families are left to fend for themselves and how early children's paths are determined.

"We are always going to need jails and prisons," she said, "but that shouldn't be the only answer."

Listen to a mom who knows. Because we don't have dollars to waste, it makes more sense than ever to spend them upfront where we will get the greatest results.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.