TKW Consulting

The Education Connection
What makes the argument for providing good care even more compelling is that child care is not just about babysitting -- it's a tremendous opportunity to give children a strong foundation for lifelong learning. "Public policy isn't keeping up with overwhelming scientific evidence that most brain development happens in the first years of life," says Republican Congressman Todd Platts, of Pennsylvania.

In 1990, the nation's governors joined with the first President Bush to adopt a series of education goals, including a pledge that by the year 2000, all of our children would arrive at school ready to learn. That didn't happen. Universal preschool is only available (or in the works) in seven states.

"Forty-six percent of kindergarten teachers report that at least half of their students are not prepared to learn," says Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd, of Connecticut. "If we are to remain a competitive nation, we simply must improve our early care and education."

If we want to boost third-grade reading scores, we have to make sure that children are being read to and talked to regularly before age 3, says Joan Lombardi, Ph.D., the first director of the Child Care Bureau in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and author of Time to Care. Research has found that children in high-quality child care have better social, math, and language skills, and fewer behavior problems. Several long-term studies have also shown that kids in high-quality early-childhood programs are significantly less likely to drop out of school, repeat grades, need special education, or commit crimes and as a result, every dollar spent on these programs saves taxpayers $4 to $7.

If experts could wave a magic wand, they'd create a subsidized system that would provide access to high-quality education for all young children. Economists Suzanne Helburn and Barbara Bergmann, authors of America's Childcare Problem: The Way Out, estimate that if the government paid all families' child-care costs that exceeded 20 percent of household income, it would cost about $46 billion annually -- less than the $48 billion increase in the military budget this year. According to the nonprofit Committee for Economic Development, preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds would cost $25 billion to $35 billion per year.

In addition to sharing the cost of care, the federal government could provide financial incentives to states to improve quality. One step in the right direction: The Focus on Committed and Underpaid Staff for Children's Sake (FOCUS) Act, which was introduced in both houses of Congress in June, would provide $5 billion for scholarships, training, stipends, and health benefits for child-care providers.

"The real question isn't what it will cost our nation to provide high-quality child care, but what the cost to our nation will be if we fail to do so," says Mark Ginsberg, Ph.D, executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.