ALBANY, N.Y. - New York advocates of early childhood education are hailing a new study showing reduction in felony arrests and jailings among adults who attended a preschool program, when compared with adults who did not.
The study, published in the journal Science, is one of the largest and longest of its kind, tracking youths from age 3 to 28 - about 1,000 who attended a Chicago preschool program and about 500 who did not. Those left out were 27 percent more likely to have been arrested for a felony by age 28 and were 39 percent more likely to have spent time in jail, according to study author Arthur Reynolds.
"So you add up all the evidence from our study and other studies, and you've got really the strongest research science for the benefits of early education."
Experts such as New York's Meredith Wiley, New York state director of the group Fight Crime, Invest in Kids, welcome the new findings but point out that the results are a product of a top-quality pre-kindergarten program - and not all such programs are. Her group is pushing for the implementation of a ratings program statewide.
Wiley believes high-quality early care and education programs can improve public safety and save taxpayers millions of dollars in corrections costs.
"This report is clear evidence of the wisdom of us adopting the QUALITYstarsNY quality-rating system that we've all been working to get implemented, so that we are sure that programs across the state are of high quality."
The study found that those who attended Chicago's Child-Parent Center program were 21 percent more likely to graduate from high school on time, and 31 percent were more likely to have attended a four-year college. Reynolds, co-director of the Human Capital Research Collaborative and a professor of child development, says the length of the study is unprecedented.
"We've never done a study like this before, so this is the first look at age 28."
Wiley welcomes the new research.
"The evidence just keeps mounting that these programs really make a huge, lifelong difference to these kids."
States are spending 10 times as much on corrections costs as on pre-K programs, according to early-education advocates who are urging Congress not to cut these programs and to make sure they are included as a key part of new federal education reform.
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Alabama is part of a national program aimed at diversifying early childhood education.
The Enriching Public Pre-K Through Inclusion of Family Child Care initiative gives the state ways to explore how family child care homes can be part of its public pre-K system.
Erin Harmeyer, assistant research professor in the National Institute of Early Education Research at Rutgers University, said family child care providers play a crucial role in filling gaps in access, especially in rural areas where they can be a better cultural and linguistic match for families compared to traditional child care centers.
"Home-based child care providers are often doing things like offering care during nontraditional hours, nights or evenings or weekends," Harmeyer explained. "They offer this really kind of familiar and flexible and personal option for families that makes them very preferred for many."
The initiative comes as demand for pre-K programs is rising. Nationwide, state-funded preschool enrollment hit record levels last year, with 35% of 4-year-olds and 7% of 3-year-olds participating in one recent school year.
Harmeyer noted Alabama was chosen for the program because it already meets her institute's 10 quality benchmark standards, including having well-qualified lead teachers, small class sizes and robust professional development requirements. She added integrating family child care homes into the system builds on this strong foundation and can offer more opportunities to support children's development.
"We know that a large body of research does show the positive impacts of preschool, in both the short and the long term for children," Harmeyer emphasized.
Alabama is one of four participants in the initiative, alongside Nevada, Michigan, and the city of Durham, North Carolina.
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New York families are still dealing with child care barriers despite improvements.
A new report found more than half the state is a child care desert with parents having to leave the workforce because they cannot access it.
While the Child Care Assistance Program has improved, it does not make up for other shortcomings.
Lara Kyriakou, associate director of early childhood policy and advocacy for Ed Trust-New York and the report's co-author, said one of the biggest barriers is lacking knowledge about available child care programs.
"Many families reported difficulties just learning about available programs including navigating application processes," Kyriakou observed. "A lot of families spoke about learning of programs from other parents or other key trusted relationships that they had in the community."
Other issues include restrictions due to a person's immigration status, or benefits cliffs where a family earns a little too much to qualify for programs. Some recommendations to fix the situation include further expanding New York's child tax credit and working families tax credit and investing in the child care workforce to hire new and retain existing workers.
Reports showed the state's child care industry workforce fell 32% from 2019 to 2023.
Enacting such changes could help New York State reach its goal of cutting child poverty in half by 2032. The report calls for a $1.2 billion sustaining investment in the child care industry.
Jenn O'Connor, director of partnerships and early childhood policy for Ed Trust-New York, said making it a sustaining investment would give child care workers a salary matching the cost of living.
"Child care providers who are predominantly women and predominantly women of color make less than your pizza delivery guy half the time," O'Connor emphasized. "They're providing an essential service and they're educating our youngest children."
The newly announced Invest in Our New York Act could pay for this. The package of bills would have corporations and New York's ultra-wealthy residents pay their fair share of taxes and the money would then be spent on child care, education and affordable housing.
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Pandemic-era federal aid for early childhood educators expired last month and Wyoming lawmakers this year failed to pass a bill which could have helped. Some hope offering a higher degree could be an answer.
The 2024 Early Childhood Workforce Index shows the median wage for Wyoming early childhood educators in 2022 was $10.60 per hour, 28% lower than what is considered a living wage of $14.70.
Nikki Baldwin, director of the Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network at the University of Wyoming, said child care programs close regularly in the state.
"We hear about them almost weekly and it can be really devastating for Wyoming families," Baldwin observed.
The study's recommendations include increasing public funding for the early childhood education sector. The U.S. currently invests just $4,000 per child, per year, compared with $14,000 invested in other wealthy nations.
Baldwin pointed out the University of Wyoming is currently developing a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. In Wyoming, the owners and directors need a high school diploma. The new program will be offered in-person or fully remote, which could help more rural and isolated educators.
"They're so motivated to continue to learn," Baldwin emphasized. "Even though compensation isn't tied to their continued learning, they're still saying yes and trying to do more and trying to learn more and improve every day."
Baldwin hopes the new program will roll out in 2026.
Anna Powell, senior research and policy associate for the Berkeley Center for the Study of Childcare Employment at the University of California-Berkeley, noted pandemic-era federal aid through American Rescue Plan grants expired in September.
"That means that it's time for states and localities to really step up and think about how they're going to address the need to sustain early care and education workers going forward," Powell contended.
The Wyoming Joint Education Committee sponsored a bill last spring which would have allowed qualified families struggling with poverty to put state funds toward limited early education childhood expenses. Instead, the Wyoming Education Savings Accounts Act passed, which did not include child care or preschool.
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