New Report: Investing in Young Children

Posted by on December 16, 2013

A serious problem with early care and education

The Center for Law and Social Policy and the National Center for Children in Poverty have released a fact sheet on early care and education in this country that indicates significant underinvestment at the state and federal levels. This is apparent with the three largest federal programs: the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Head Start. Funding for CCDBG has not kept pace with inflation or need, with 150,000 losing access to childcare subsidies since 2006, and an additional 30,000 losing subsidies due to sequestration. Funding for Head Start has increased by $1.2 billion from 2006 to 2012, but demand has exceeded growth, with only 42 percent of eligible children served by Head Start preschool and a mere four percent eligible served by Early Head Start. States are also falling short of recommended quality benchmarks. Currently, only four states (CT, ND, OR, VT) meet benchmarks for both class size and adult-child ratios, while 33 meet neither. A complex mix of federal and state investments and policies shapes low-income access to quality early care and education. Currently, these are too weak to benefit large numbers of young children experiencing economic hardship and other circumstances posing serious risks to their healthy development and success in school and life.

Read more at: http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Investing-in-Young-Children.pdf