Improving Access to Quality Early Childhood Programs will Benefit all Americans, Witnesses tell House Education Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With millions of families losing jobs and becoming more vulnerable in today’s economy, it’s more critical than ever to expand access to high quality, comprehensive early childhood programs for the nation’s youngest children, witnesses told members of House Education and Labor Committee today. For many families, child care is the second highest monthly expense after housing. “As President Obama made clear in his first major education speech, if we only start focusing on kids at kindergarten and on – it’s five years too late,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee. “Investing in early childhood pays off – it helps our children stay healthier and thrive in school in the short-term and helps build a stronger economy for the long-term. The economic crisis further highlights the need to meet families’ urgent needs and ensure that our youngest children have the early learning opportunities they need to succeed.”

Today, nearly 12 million of the 18.5 million children under five in this country are in some type of regular child care or early education program. Children with working mothers spend on average 36 hours per week in these settings.

Witnesses today testified about how quality early learning opportunities in a variety of settings yield significant academic, health and other benefits for children from birth through age five.

“Researchers and economists agree that high-quality early care and education programs can improve the odds of success for low-income children,” said Helene Stebbins, project coordinator for the National Center on Children in Poverty. “But to benefit, young children have to be in high-quality early education settings that meet the needs of working parents.”

The official poverty level in 2009 is $18,310 for a family of three, but research shows the costs for basic necessities cost at least twice this amount. According to Stebbins, 10 million children under the age of 6 live in families “earning twice the poverty level or less” nationwide, and are more likely to suffer poor health and education outcomes.

While state standards for early learning programs vary tremendously, some states are successfully helping to close the achievement gap for low-income children. Illinois, for example, has made high quality preschool available to 3-and 4-year-olds, with prioritizing at-risk, low-income children. This investment is providing services for the neediest children and families in every county in Illinois.

“All of this costs more in the short term, but quality of service is what it takes to get long-term results,” said Harriet Meyer, co-chair of the Illinois Early Learning Council. “It is the only way we will ever get our poorest children scoring at the national average. We already know how hard it is to catch children up if we rely on remediation after they enter our formal education system.”

“[T]he economic analysis of the return on the investment in early childhood that we so often hear about is based on studies of long-term effects of children at risk receiving quality early childhood education,” said  Jessie Rasmussen, vice president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund. “It is our failure to invest in the youngest children most at risk that results in significant costs for states and our nation in terms of educational remediation, criminal justice, health care and loss of productivity.”

Rasmussen noted that too often “the children who would benefit the most from highly effective early childhood programs are the ones least likely to have access to such programs.”

Jim Redmon, the executive director of Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund, underscored the benefits states see when there is a statewide collaboration to meet the needs of children, families, and programs. In Kansas, the state worked across agencies and with various stakeholders to create a blueprint for an early childhood program that would effectively provide parents with quality child care, pre-school and health insurance. He urged Congress to consider a federally-coordinated early childhood program that would “help states to deliver and manage services more effectively.”

This hearing comes a week after President Barack Obama delivered his first speech on education, in which he discussed early education as a critical part of his agenda. Today’s hearing is the first in a series of hearings the committee is holding to examine early childhood education and development. These will build on the hearings the Committee held in the 110th Congress. For more information, click here.  

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