Early education gets a boost as experts from three other states join Hawaii to improve policies.

A four day conference is underway to strategize on early childhood development and education. And the idea is to learn from others by sharing policies that have worked best. Experts from Washington, Florida, and Mississippi have joined in.

"Parents will benefit because our long term outcome is that more children will read at grade level by third grade and our other long term outcome is that we will have more resources that really can assist parents as they educate their young children," said Liz Chun, from Good Beginnings Alliance.

There's a general concern nationwide that children aren't being given enough opportunities to reach their full potential. And that translates into a loss of valuable workforce and leadership. With all the grim news about the economy, some say this is still not the time to skimp on the future generation.

"We take out long term loans for certain important things we want in our life whether it's a car or a house. If you said I'm gonna take a 30-year loan on my child's education and in 10 years it's gonna be paid off, I would always say it's a great time to be investing in young children," said Sterling Speirn, from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Sterling Speirn is the president and CEO of the WK Kellogg Foundation, which has handed out more than 35 million dollars in grants to Hawaii. He says there's really no choice when it comes to the future of our children.

"Some things are so core like healthy food and a good night's sleep to say you will get early childhood education regardless of the fluctuations in the economy," said Speirn.

And early childhood experts says it's an investment that's not only good for the parents, but for everyone in general.

"When we have healthy well nourished and well educated young children growing up, it's better for our state's economy, we have a stronger work force. We know that it's just better overall for our citizenry," said Chun.