All children need stable relationships with parents and caring adults and safe, nurturing, and stimulating environments to thrive. Nationally, 61 percent of young children receive regular non-parental care [i] through a continuum of settings that include: family, friends, and neighbors; licensed family care; child care and early learning centers; and pre-kindergarten programs. [ii]
Particularly for poor children, participation in high-quality early care and education programs from birth to kindergarten entry positively impact child well-being and later school success. [iii] But access is a particular challenge for low-income families who can neither find nor afford high quality opportunities in their communities. [iv] Access to state-funded pre-kindergarten is growing, but access to high-quality child care is still inadequate. State child care licensing requirements do not promote nurturing, high-quality care. [v]
What Can Policymakers Do?
Economic Benefits
States using economic impact studies have documented the Early Care and Education industry’s importance to the economy’s health. Georgia’s study found that the industry;
· Generates $4.1 million in economic activity in the state annually.
· Provides and generates nearly 75,000 jobs.
· Supports between $13.6 billion and $32.7 billion in parents’ estimated annual earnings.
· Generates $117 million in tax revenues.
[i] Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved January 12, 2009. http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/famsoc3.asp.
[ii] Kreader, J L., and Lawrence, S. (2006). Toward a National Strategy to Improve Family, Friend and Neighbor Care. New York: National Center for Children in Poverty. Retrieved January 12, 2009. http://www.nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_676.pdf (12 January 2009).
[iii] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, & Evaluation. (2006). “Preliminary Findings for the Early Head Start Prekindergarten Followup.”
[iv] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Bureau. Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Report to Congress, Fiscal Year 2001. January 2003.
[v] Improving the Odds report. http://www.nccp.org/projects/improvingtheodds.html.