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CDF-NY Analysis and Position on Early Learn NYC - May 2010
In April 2010, the Administration for Children's Services released a concept paper outlining its new vision for early childhood services. The goals of the new model, called Early Learn NYC, are to create a streamlined and coordinated system that blends funding from Head Start, child care and Universal Pre-Kindergarten and provide a high-quailty learning environment that meets the needs of children and their families.
The city's early childhood system - most specifically the subsidized child care system - has been in crisis for many years. The lack of state support, unfunded market rate increases, decreasing federal allocations, and increasing demand of families on public assistance have all led to a decrease in overall funding and capacity in the city's child care system. As a result, the city has spent the past several years reacting to budget challenges and implementing policy and programmatic changes based on budgetary actions, rather than focusing on a much needed reform and overhaul of the system that is focused on quality and the needs of families.
Early Learn NYC provides an opportunity for New York City to move towards a more integrated approach to quality early childhood learning. It includes many of the concepts for which we have advocated over the past few years and creates a strong framework on which the city can continue to build to create a truly comprehsneive early childhood system. If implemented effectively, parents will no longer have to navigate three different systems to find the right care for their child, and programs will no longer have to juggle different funding streams and administrative requirements. Most importantly, children will benefit by experiencing high-quailty early childhood services in more diverse and integrated settings that will truly mee their needs.
While the goals and vision of Early Learn NYC are consistent with the goals of CDF-NY for early childhood learning in New York, there remains some questions and concerns. Click here for CDF-NY's summary of the current challenges and problems with the system, the benefits and concerns about Early Learn NYC, the potential benefits for children and families, and what is at stake for the overall system.
Early Childhood Education and Child Care Programs in New York
Every child deserves the child care and early education - the "head start" - that they need to get a strong start in life, and to be safe and secure while their parents are at work.
While parents are their children's first teachers, many parents want and need good child care and early education that can help prepare their children for school. In New York 54% of children under six have both parents in the labor force. And many school-age children need good after-school options to keep them safe and productive while their parents are at work. Far too many American children and families are not getting what they need because quality child care, Head Start, prekindergarten, or after-school activities are unaffordable and difficult to find.
Head Start targets the most disadvantaged children living in this country, children who live at or below the poverty line, and children with disabilities and special needs. Since Head Start's inception in 1965, it has reached over 20 million at-risk children and families. Currently, the program is serving over 900,000 children nationwide. New York's 172 Head Start programs receive more than $418 million to provide services for close to 50,000 at-risk children. These are funds that go directly into communities to serve children.
Parents, researchers, and educators all agree that Head Start works. In a 1999 Presidential Management Council report, Head Start got a higher customer satisfaction score than any other government agency. A study by the Department of Health and Human Services reported that over ninety-eight percent of parents are satisfied with how the program has helped their children to develop.
Head Start focuses on children's cognitive development, as well as their social, emotional, and physical development, which is a key aspect of the program's success. Research has demonstrated that children who are undernourished learn at a slower pace, and children who do not have parental support have trouble thriving in school. Head Start addresses these issues. It provides health screenings, immunizations, mental health counseling, dental services, nutritional meals and parental support and training. Children with strong parental involvement have higher rates of school completion and lower dropout rates than children who do not have strong parental involvement.
Children who participate in Head Start programs fare far better than their counterparts who do not. They are less likely to fall behind in school or repeat a grade. They stay in school longer and are more likely to go to college. To find a Head Start program in your area go to http://www.nysheadstart.org/. 
Child Care
Studies repeatedly have shown that quality child care - care that provides a loving, safe, and stable environment - helps children enter school ready to succeed, improve skills, and stay safe while parents work. The positive effect of good care is even greater for low-income children. Yet, in many communities, families cannot find adequate and affordable care. In New York State, the average cost of childcare for a four-year-old is $8,060 a year - almost twice the cost of tuition at a four-year public college ($4,350). Making more quality child care available will help to support a vibrant economy, allow families to find and keep jobs, and prepare the workforce of the future.
In New York working families with incomes below 200% of the poverty level (about 30,000 per year for a family of three) may be eligible for help paying for their child care. However, there is not enough funding to serve all the families eligible for a child care subsidy. According to the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, only 18% of the 880,900 eligible children in New York State receive child care assistance. It is best to check with your county regarding their eligibility standards. For more information about child care resources in your community contact your local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency listed at http://www.nyscccc.org/
Prekindergarten
Throughout the last two decades, there has been a growing interest in the development and education of young children in the years just before they enter school. Early education has been a fundamental part of the education reform agenda since 1989, when the nation's governors and President George Bush signed the National Education Goals. The first of these national education goals stated that by the year 2000, every child would enter school ready to learn and that access to a high-quality early childhood program was key to meeting this goal. This goal has not yet been achieved, but efforts to help all children become better prepared for school continue. These include prekindergarten initiatives, which are supported through a variety of private and public sources at the federal, state, and local levels.
New York has a highly successful Universal Pre- K program currently serving 60,000 children. New York invested $225 million in its Universal Pre-K program in 2001, up from $67 million in 1998-1999. Since 2001, the program funding has been frozen, limiting it to districts that were already participating and preventing the program from reaching many of the state's neediest districts.
High quality pre -kindergarten programs are particularly important for children in low-income families who often lack access to experiences and resources that promote their successful development. Convincing evidence exists of the benefits of early education for children at risk of school failure, including higher math and reading scores, stronger learning skills, increased creativity, better school attendance, improved health, and greater involvement by parents in their children's education. But pre-kindergarten programs are not only for children at risk. Pre-kindergarten programs help all children enter school better prepared to learn and succeed. For more information on Universal Pre-K in New York, go to http://www.winningbeginningny.org/
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