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EARLY EDUCATION POLICY

Law enforcement leaders recognize that early childhood education programs are among the most powerful weapons to prevent crime and violence. While these programs go by many different names and vary in their focus, Head Start, child care, pre-kindergarten and early education programs can all offer high-quality learning environments that prepare kids for school and help them avoid a life of crime.

Legislative Update: October 24, 2007

Head Start - Fact Sheet

Since 1965, Head Start has provided comprehensive education, social and emotional development, and physical and mental health services for children in poverty, along with parent coaching, to help children succeed in school and reduce later crime. Research shows that at-risk children left out of quality pre-kindergarten are five times more likely to grow up to become criminals by age 27 than comparable children in quality pre-kindergarten. Unfortunately, Head Start is so under-funded that it can only serve about half of eligible, poor three- and four-year-olds. Early Head Start serves less than five percent of the eligible infants and toddlers.

On May 2, the full House approved the "Improving Head Start Act of 2007" (H.R. 1429). On June 19th, the full Senate approved the "Head Start for School Readiness Act" (S. 556). Now differences between the two bills must be resolved before final passage.

FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS has worked with allies in the 110th Congress to ensure that Head Start is reauthorized with quality improvements and additional funding. We are pleased that both the House and Senate reauthorization bills expand and strengthen Head Start and Early Head Start by:

• 1) Expanding access to Head Start and Early Head Start, so that more eligible at-risk children can be served (including increasing the Early Head Start set-aside from 10% to 20%);
• 2) Including a quality improvement provision for 50% of classroom lead teachers to have bachelor's degrees with specialized training in early childhood education within a specified number of years;
• 3) Maintaining performance standards and rejecting state block grants or waivers that would reduce applicability of the standards to any districts or states, and, thus, endanger Head Start quality;
• 4) Enhancing coordination of Head Start with child care, state preschool programs, programs for young children with disabilities, Title 1 preschool programs, and other early education and care programs without altering the federal-to-local funding structure;
• 5) Enhancing accountability; and
• 6) Otherwise improving the quality of the program through research-proven approaches to enhance educational, and social, emotional and behavioral development, as well as the parent coaching components of the program.

We also hope to achieve a substantial increase in Head Start funding, beginning with the Fiscal Year 2008 budget process. A $750 million increase over current funding levels for Head Start (coupled with a $720 million increase for child care) would restore funding for services to children to the FY02 level - a down payment toward expanding quality child care, fully funding Head Start for pre-k-aged eligible kids, substantially expanding Early Head Start and funding the increased teacher qualification requirements in the years to come. Unfortunately, the House-passed appropriations bill includes only a $75 million increase in Head Start funding for FY08, not even enough to keep pace with inflation. The Senate has proposed a $200 million increase for Head Start. See Federal Budget Policy for more information.

Head Start letter to the Senate.

Head Start letter to the House.

Child Care - Fact Sheet

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) helps working families pay for quality early care and education and after-school activities for their kids. A study of Chicago's government-funded Child Parent Centers showed that comparable children left out of this high-quality early care and education program were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18. Unfortunately, only one in seven eligible kids is benefiting from CCDBG help for their families to pay for child care.

CCDBG includes two funding streams: one is "mandatory", which means authorizing legislation sets the funding level for as many years as the authorizing legislation determines (typically, three to five years); the other is "discretionary", which means Congress determines the funding level every year through the appropriations process. The mandatory portion of CCDBG funding was reauthorized in early 2006 as part of the FY06 budget reconciliation bill (P.L. 109-171). This reauthorization included a $200 million per year increase from FY06-FY10 in child care funding, which is not enough to keep pace with inflation, meet unmet need or improve quality.

FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS will be working with Congress this year to ensure a significant child care funding increase to ensure access to child care for more eligible kids. As a first step, we urge Congress to include, in their Fiscal Year 2008 budget, a $720 million increase over current funding levels for CCDBG (coupled with a $750 million increase for Head Start) to restore funding lost to inflation erosion over the last several years. Unfortunately, the Senate proposed no increase in discretionary child care funding for FY08 and the House has proposed only a $75 million increase, not even enough to keep pace with inflation. See Federal Budget Policy for more information.

Congress may also reauthorize the discretionary part of CCDBG this year. If they do, we will urge them to significantly increase the percentage of CCDBG funds set aside for quality improvement, from 4% to at least 8%.

Child care funding letter.