The Buffett Institute promotes the development and learning of children from birth through age 8.
The vision of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute is that Nebraska will become the best place in the nation to be a baby.
Our mission is to transform the lives of young children by improving their learning and development.
HOW WE WORK
We bring together those who are working to improve early childhood education and development.
We serve as a catalyst for change and provide a unified vision and common approach for how we can work together to improve children’s learning and development.
We partner with schools, communities, policymakers, and others to share—and apply—the best of what is known about early childhood development.
We serve as a bridge to resources and information for parents, providers, and the public. We communicate what we know to improve the lives of vulnerable young children and their families
AREAS OF FOCUS
At the Buffett Institute, we believe we have an extraordinary opportunity to work with others to transform the early life experiences of children from birth through age 8.
We focus especially on children living in poverty, those growing up under conditions of high stress and familial challenge, and children with developmental delays.
About the Early Years
EVIDENCE
More than 150 high-quality, scientific studies from all over the world demonstrate that starting early can have major short- and long-term effects on cognitive and social-emotional development.
Early learning has been linked to progress in school, increased earnings, and reductions in anti-social behavior, welfare participation, and trouble with the law.
BRAIN SCIENCE
Nearly 90 percent of brain growth takes place during the first five years of life.
During the early years, more than 1 million new neural connections are formed every second. Neural connections are formed through the interaction of genes and a baby’s environment and experiences.
These are the connections that build brain architecture – the foundation upon which all later learning, behavior, and health depend.
SMART INVESTMENT
Money spent on high-quality early care and education is an investment.
One dollar spent on high-quality early care and education yields an average return of $4 over time.
In circumstances where children are extremely vulnerable, the return can be as high as $13.
SCHOOL AND LIFE SUCCESS
Cognitive and non-cognitive abilities—including key workforce skills such as motivation, persistence, self-regulation, and self-control—are important for a productive workforce, and deficits that emerge early are difficult to change.
At-risk children who DO NOT receive a high-quality early childhood education are:
- 25% more likely to drop out of school.
- 40% more likely to become a teen parent.
- 50% more likely to be placed in special education.
- 60% more likely to never attend college.
- 70% more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Relationships with responsive, consistent primary caregivers help build positive attachments that support healthy social-emotional development.
These relationships form the foundation of mental health for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
LANGUAGE / LITERACY
The number of words and the breadth of vocabulary heard by a child during the early years of life is a key component for school preparation and can dramatically affect language development and IQ. By age 4, a child from a professional family will have heard approximately 30 million more words than a child from a low-income family. The gap grows as the years progress.
START EARLY. START WELL.
It’s more efficient, both biologically and economically, to get things right the first time than to try to fix them later.
We’ve learned that brains, skills, and health are built over time, but starting early is what counts.
Neuroscientists tell us that the window of opportunity for development remains open for many years, but the costs of remediation grow with age.
You can learn more about The Buffet Early Childhood Institute and it’s area of focus.
To learn more about what else is happening in Nebraska or other States, you can visit our Advocacy Map.
State:
NebraskaInterests:
Child Poverty, Children with Special Needs, Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Mental Health, Professional DevelopmentSubmitted on:
November 9, 2021Contact Email:
Resources
Resource Url:
https://buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu/