EPHRATA - Joined by students at a local Head Start Center, three of Grant County's law enforcement leaders discussed a new report showing a state-federal early learning proposal could lead to fewer prisoners and millions of dollars in savings each year.

Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones, Grant County Prosecuting Attorney Angus Lee and Ephrata Police Chief Mike Warren spoke at the event Tuesday at Family Services of Grant County Head Start Center in Ephrata. They are among more than 170 law enforcement leaders in the state who have signed a letter urging Congress to work in partnership with the Obama Administration to enact a proposal that would provide states with resources to create, strengthen and expand quality state preschool for low and moderate income 4-year-olds.

Family Services Head Start Grant County currently provided a preschool curriculum, meals and heath screenings to kids ages 3 to 5 in Moses Lake, Ephrata and Soap Lake, according to Head Start's website.

"The choice is simple," Jones said. "Pay for quality early learning for Washington children now, or pay far more for the costs of crime in Washington for decades to come."

The proposal calls for $75 billion over 10 years to be invested in early learning, compared to the $75 billion taxpayers pay every year to incarcerate adults in federal and state prisons and local jails, according to the report. Just in Washington, $842 million is spent each year to incarcerate more than 17,000 criminals.

"We're tough on criminals because public safety is our job," Lee said. "But a more proactive use of taxpayer dollars with a much greater return on investment by keeping fewer people from becoming criminals, is to invest in early learning."

A report, called "I'm the guy you pay later," released by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, highlights reductions in crime and incarceration of long-term studies of key preschool programs in Michigan and Chicago that primarily served children from low-income families.

Children who participated in the Chicago Child-Parent Center preschool program were 20 percent less likely to have been incarcerated by age 24. Non-participants were also 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18.

By age 40, children who participated in Michigan's Perry Preschool were 46 percent less likely than non-participants to have been sentenced to prison or jail.

The proposal could eventually reduce the number of people incarcerated in the state by 1,700 and lead to $84 million in cost savings each year, according to the report

State Director Laura Wells said the country is at a "fork in the road," with the opportunity to reduce the number of future inmates by putting millions of children on a more secure path to school and life success.

"We can continue with the status quo, which is leading too many people to failure in school, involvement in crime, and incarceration, at a huge cost to Washington taxpayers," Wells said. "Or we can take a different course, leading more kids to success in school, high school graduation and savings to taxpayers years to come."

The proposal would also expand early childhood development programs for more children from birth through age 3, including voluntary home visiting programs designed to reduce child abuse and neglect by helping young parents understand their children's health needs, create safer home environments and develop parenting skills.

"It's been said time and again that crime doesn't pay, but like it or not, we all end up paying for crime," Chief Warren said. "We need to take a smarter course for the sake of our kids today and the safety and solvency of our communities in the coming years. From my perspective, if we can save one child, that's worth the money we spend."

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a non-profit anti-crime organization.

To learn more about the state-federal early learning proposal or to view the full report, visit www.fightcrime.org/wa.