Science has long suggested that the earliest years of life have the most profound effect on the brain’s development. But far too many children lack the kinds of experiences and opportunities to promote and nurture healthy growth and development. And those who don’t meet key developmental milestones often struggle in school, and many won’t graduate on time – or at all.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s latest KIDS COUNT® policy report, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success, raises the flag on several troubling concerns that require attention, including:

• Only 36 percent of third-graders are on track in cognitive development; low-income and minority children fare even worse.

• Just 19 percent of third-graders in families with income below 200 percent of the poverty level and 50 percent of those in families with incomes above that level had developed age-appropriate cognitive skills.

• A mere 14 percent of black children and 19 percent of Hispanic children are on track in cognitive development.

In recent years, overwhelmingly convincing evidence is mounting that supports the high value of investing in early childhood programming and services to ensure all children are given the resources and opportunity to thrive academically and socially.

“All children need nurturing and plentiful opportunities to develop during their crucial first eight years,” said Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Casey Foundation. “Today’s complicated world can strain families’ ability to ensure their children are receiving all the stimulation and care they need to develop to their full potential.”

The Casey Foundation, which is a lead investor in the GLR Campaign has created a report that can help shape our work in promoting an integrated system of care, services and family supports for children from low-income families.

The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success offers several policy recommendations that states and communities should consider in developing a strategy for investing in children and their families – including providing more early learning programs and helping parents navigate systems that are in place to help them.

Read thefull brief here and the press release.