Early education is the type of issue politicians nod their heads at, and then when it comes time to make a tough decision, a financial trade-off, inevitably it's about the first item tossed from the table.

Early childhood education is an urgent educational, economic and moral imperative. Without it, we face a long-term national economic security crisis.

Studies have proven that early childhood education returns to society as much as $12 for every dollar invested. Our goal is to identify the most important development opportunities for children five years and younger, providing insight to transform early childhood education from a social policy issue into an economic imperative.

I focus on supporting high quality early childhood health care and education. By betting my resources on very young children, I know I'm making an investment that pays guaranteed dividends with a high rate of return.

The key to America's economic future is educating kids as early in their lives as we can.

Head Start has been a key component of health, nutrition and early learning opportunities since the 1960s.