On Behalf of FIGHT CRIME: Invest in Kids

WHAT: News conference to urge Texas lawmakers to improve a new proposal for pre-K education by increasing funding to ensure more children participate in high-quality preschool programs. The law enforcement leaders will make their case with solid evidence of the impact of quality early education on reducing crime with the report We're the Guys You Pay Later.

The grant will target low-income families from under-resourced neighborhoods in Austin. 

WHO: Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, Austin Independent School District Assistant Police Chief Chris Evoy, Travis County Sheriff Captain Frank Lofton

WHEN: 12 p.m. Tuesday, April 21 

WHERE: Uphaus Early Childhood Center 5200 Freidrich Ln. Austin, TX 78744 

Overview: On behalf of 182 Texas police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, Austin Independent School District Assistant Police Chief Chris Evoy and Travis County Sheriff Office's Captain Frank Lofton are encouraging lawmakers to expand quality pre-K opportunities for Texas kids as a vital step toward safer communities in the coming years. 

The local law enforcement leaders will make their case with the release of a report,We're the Guys You Pay Later. Speaking in person at the event, the law enforcement leaders will describe how quality early learning experiences prepare children for long-term academic success, thereby reducing the likelihood they will turn to crime in later years. Research in the report shows approximately 12 percent of Texas' high school students fail to graduate from high school on time, and that Texans who do not have a high school diploma are more than three times as likely to be incarcerated as those who have graduated from high school. 

The law enforcement leaders will also discuss how raising academic achievement and graduation rates could benefit Texas taxpayers, who currently spend more than $2.5 billion every year in incarceration costs for adults in federal and state prisons and local jails in the state.

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a membership organization of law enforcement leaders and crime victims under the umbrella nonprofit Council for a Strong America.