Executive Constantine's Best Starts for Kids initiative placed on November ballot | King County

King County Executive Dow Constantine thanked the Metropolitan King County Council for placing his Best Starts for Kids initiative on the Nov. 3, 2015 ballot by an 8-1 vote.

The proposed six-year levy would provide funding for prevention and early intervention programs designed to increase the number of King County children and youth who reach adulthood healthy and ready to contribute to the region’s prosperity.

“We have the means, the shared commitment, and now the opportunity to put every child in King County on a path toward lifelong success,” said Executive Constantine. “Thanks to today’s action by Councilmembers, voters will have the option to invest earlier in the development of our children and youth, when we have the greatest chance to help them reach their full potential.

“Best Starts for Kids is how we will transform the way we invest in our next generation, to finally provide the upstream solutions that prevent negative outcomes such as mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and incarceration. By making the latest research and tools available to every parent and caregiver in our community, we will be able to produce the talented, creative and motivated workforce we need to remain a prosperous region,” said the Executive.

Cost to average homeowner is about $1 each week

The proposed levy rate is 14 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, which would cost the average King County homeowner about $1 each week. Half of the funding would go toward early childhood development—birth through age 5—followed by early intervention as problems such as depression, and chemical dependency occur during teenage years. It would also support community-based programs that are designed to create safe, healthy communities that reinforce a child’s progress.

Learn more about James Heckman’s research on the great gains to be had by investing in early development.

There already are community-based programs in King County that increase the likelihood that a baby is born at a healthy weight and prevent developmental delays from becoming lifelong disabilities. However, access to those programs is limited in part because about 75 percent of the County’s General Fund is used to pay for the justice system, which includes law enforcement, courts, and jails.

Best Starts for Kids provides the funds needed to expand access to community-based programs that are proven to deliver positive outcomes or show potential. The long-term goal is to decrease demand for services needed when there is a negative outcome, such as mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence and homelessness.

Best Starts for Kids is based on research by James Heckman, a Nobel Prize-winning economics professor who found that investing earlier in a person’s development—starting with prenatal services—delivers the greatest return.

Levy would generate an estimated $58.3 million in 2016 with the following allocations:

50 percent to early childhood development, from birth through age 5, when research shows that 92 percent of brain growth occurs.
35 percent to sustain the gain by providing early intervention services to address problems such as depression and developmental disabilities as the brain continues to develop through age 24.
10 percent to reinforce a child’s progress by improving the health, social, and economic outcomes in the communities where they live.
5 percent to pay for evaluation, data collection, and program improvement.