King County Sheriff John Urquhart on Thursday received the “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Champion for Washington’s Children Award” for his work on behalf of early learning.

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Washington State Director Laura Wells presented the award to Sheriff Urquhart during the King County Chiefs’ Meeting at the Criminal Justice Training Center in Burien.

“Sheriff Urquhart knows that investing in our youngest children will set them on the path to success and away from crime. He has worked effectively with policymakers and the public to encourage wise investments in prevention programs for children during their earliest years,” Wells said in a press release. “He has shown a deep commitment to early learning and home visiting programs that help give kids the right start in life and prevent crime. We are pleased to honor him as the 2014 Champion for Washington’s Children.”

Sheriff Urquhart joined Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Washington soon after being elected in 2012. He has testified in Olympia and met with state and federal policymakers to promote early learning and home visiting as key crime prevention strategies. His Guest Commentary in the Seattle Times and testimony before the Seattle City Council helped build public and political support for early learning at the state and local level.

In testimony before the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee in Olympia, Sheriff Urquhart said “We can’t arrest our way out of society’s problems. We have to come up with other solutions. One of these solutions is high quality early learning.”