Two major data points about Idaho surfaced recently, and together they tell a story we can no longer ignore. ReadyNation’s new analysis estimates that Idaho loses $688 million every year because parents cannot access reliable child care. Around the same time, national data showed Idaho ranking 46th in the country for kindergarten readiness. At first glance, these may seem like separate issues; one about the economy, one about education. But both point to the same underlying challenge: too many Idaho families lack access to the early care and learning resources their children need, and too many parents are forced to make impossible choices about work as a result.

From pregnancy to age five, children’s brains form more than one million neural connections per second, the fastest period of growth a person will ever experience. These early years shape language development, social skills, problem‑solving, and the ability to learn. Children who experience high-quality early learning are 25% more likely to graduate high school, four times more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree, and can earn up to 25% more as adults. These outcomes support the beginnings of a stronger and more resilient Idaho workforce.

But readiness doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It grows from stable families, consistent early learning experiences, and access to environments that support healthy development. If families cannot afford or find child care, children miss out on those early experiences, and parents lose the stability they need to work. That is how a readiness challenge becomes a workforce challenge, and how a workforce challenge becomes a $688 million annual economic loss.

Employers across Idaho are clear about the pressures they face: worker shortages, high turnover, and parents who miss work because child care falls through. These are symptoms of a strained early childhood system that affects both today’s and tomorrow’s workforces. Idaho pays for that twice, once in lost productivity today, and again in remediation and workforce gaps years down the road.

When children start school ready to learn, the benefits show up everywhere. We spend fewer taxpayer dollars on remediation and special accommodations. Fewer students are held back a grade, which carries an even higher cost. Teachers can focus on teaching a classroom of students with similar needs instead of trying to bridge wide gaps in readiness. When teachers can teach, students can learn. Idahoans value choice in education, and early learning is no different. When families have real choices, affordable child care, early learning opportunities, and tools to support learning at home, they can prepare their children in ways that align with their values. And when families can prepare their children, we see stronger kindergarten readiness, a more stable future workforce, and long‑term savings for the state and taxpayers.

Nobel Laureate James Heckman’s research shows a 13% annual return on investments in high‑quality early childhood programs. Few public investments offer that kind of yield, and even fewer address both immediate workforce needs and long‑term economic health at the same time.

Idaho’s kindergarten‑readiness ranking and the state’s workforce challenges reflect the same underlying reality: families are navigating the earliest years of their children’s lives without the support, stability, and access they need. The $688 million Idaho loses each year and the number of children starting school already behind are two outcomes of the same conditions.

Early childhood is not separate from Idaho’s economic future. It is part of it. The experiences children have before kindergarten shape the skills they bring into school, and the stability families have during those years shapes their ability to participate in the workforce. Strengthening the early years is a long‑term strategy for a stronger Idaho; one that supports children, families, employers, and the state’s economic health.

Nicole Criner is the Executive Director of Idaho AEYC, where she works to ensure Idaho’s children and families have access to strong early learning opportunities.