Good news for cops and kids

To the Eagle:

There was some great news for cops and kids that came out of Olympia this year. The legislature passed and funded the Early Start Act and increased funding for home visiting programs.

It’s probably obvious to most people why this is good news for kids, but you may be wondering why it’s also good news for cops. The good news for law enforcement is in the fact that high-quality early learning and home visiting programs have been proven to get kids off to a good start so they are more likely to arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed, more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to commit crimes as juveniles.

We joined other sheriffs, prosecutors and police chiefs in advocating for the Early Start Act and increased funding for ECEAP and home visiting programs such as those provided by the St. James Family Center. We applaud our legislators who voted for these investments in future crime prevention and the kids of Wahkiakum County.

Sheriff Mark Howie

Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow