After a year of increases in the funding and access to early childhood education across the U.S., including Kentucky’s commitment to increase preschool funding by $18 million and the restoration of Kentucky’s Child Care Assistance Program, the public continues to support children’s opportunity to get a strong start. A recently released report on the results of a bi-partisan poll shows that voters across the political spectrum support investments in early childhood programs from birth to age five. Conducted by the bipartisan research team of Public [...]

An annual report, The State of Preschool 2013; State Preschool Yearbook, released by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) was released last week. The report includes national trends, data tables, and state-by-state information on the current status of state-funded prekindergarten programs, including standards for quality, access, and changes to programs in the last year. The report covers 40 states that currently have state-funded preschool programs as well as ten states and the U.S. territories which do not provide state-funded prekindergarten. Research tells us [...]

The first eight years of life are the most critical in building a strong foundation for lifetime success. Early childhood experiences play a major role in influencing a person’s educational performance and attainment, how much a person earns throughout life and even health risks and life expectancy. These experiences include: prenatal care, strong parent-child interactions, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), quality early care and education, family economic security, health care, and developmental screenings. The strength of [...]