Best Starts for Kids will make our communities safer, stronger | Urquhart

When we can give children the opportunity to lead better lives, we should seize it. We have that chance in this year’s general election by voting to support King County Proposition No. 1, the Best Starts for Kids levy.

We hear a lot about reducing crime. Proposition 1 will do just that. When we invest in kids early, they are much less likely to end up in jail or prison later in life. I know from experience — and from research — that investments in programs that put our kids on the right track are some of the most powerful crime reduction tools at our disposal.

Proposition 1, which would cost the average homeowner in King County just over $1 per week, will make a big difference in children’s lives and in our community.  Half of the proceeds raised each year will be devoted to proven programs for children up to age five – the years in which research tells us the brain lays the foundation for later health, behavior and learning.

One of these proven programs is the Nurse-Family Partnership, a voluntary, high-quality home visiting program that has been proven to prevent child abuse and neglect and help kids get off to a strong start in life. The Nurse-Family Partnership matches low-income young women in their first pregnancy with a registered nurse who provides coaching and education beginning before birth until the child’s second birthday. Studies found that children whose mothers participated in the program were half as likely to be abused or neglected and children not in the program had more than twice as many criminal convictions by age 19.

Another 35 percent of funds raised will go toward help and intervention for young people during their school age years.  The experiences young people are exposed to during these years and their ability to succeed in school and make smart life choices can have a profound impact on the ultimate direction of their lives.

In the most recent statewide Healthy Youth Survey, nearly 20 percent of sixth graders said they had seriously considered suicide. More than 30 percent of eighth graders said they had been in a fight in the past year and an equal number said they had stopped doing some things they would normally do because they were depressed or without hope.  These are not just alarming statistics.  These are young people we see in our communities every day.  Young people whose lives and futures represent our region’s future.

Today, children who are disadvantaged by poverty and other circumstances are far more likely to miss out on the early education, mentoring and support that many young people need to overcome difficult life circumstances. Our communities will be far stronger if kids from all backgrounds have the support they need to grow up to become not only productive members of society, but the leaders of tomorrow as well.

Proposition 1 will fund that support and enable the screening, assistance and intervention programs that give young people the help they need – and decrease the mental health and addiction problems that challenge them down the road. By the time kids get to the criminal justice system, a lot of damage has been done, and reversing course is costly and much less effective.

The Best Starts for Kids Levy can and will give thousands of children now and in the future a better opportunity to grow up healthy, succeed in school and lead a quality life.  It will also help ensure we have the motivated and well-prepared workforce developed from our own community to be the future teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and public safety officers that our region needs to grow and prosper.

The kids of today and tomorrow are indeed our hope for a brighter future, and they deserve the best opportunity to succeed.

King County Sheriff John Urquhart was first elected in 2012 and has served in law enforcement for nearly 40 years.