Early Learning Shortchanged: A 50-State Analysis of Early Care and Education Public Funding Structures

• In Event: Examining the Complexities of ECE Funding from a National-, State-, Program- & Family-Level Perspective

Abstract

Background:Decades of research have shown that children develop essential learning skills during their first five years of life, and that dollars spent on children in their youngest years are the most cost-effective human capital investments (Heckman, 2000; Bailey, Sun, & Timpe, 2021). Yet those are the years in the United States when federal, state, and local governments spend the least on children’s education and development. This paper uncovers the extent to which we underinvest in children’s education and care across age groups, geographies, and funding sources. Nationally, the authors found that in 2022 – for every public dollar spent on the education and care of a school-aged child, only 21 cents were spent on a preschooler, while 11 cents were spent on an infant or toddler.
Purpose/Research Questions: How many public dollars go into early care and education (ECE) per capita in each state? How do per capita investments in ECE compare to per capita investments in K-12 education and care nationally, and in each state? How does the balance between state and federal ECE funding vary across states?
Methods:The authors analyzed federal, state, and local funding streams supporting child care, preschool, home visiting, early intervention, and special education services for children from birth through kindergarten entry. We located expenditure budgets for each state and reviewed them line by line to determine the real total state spending (above federal spending, state-reported matches, and maintenance of efforts, as well as the National Institute for Early Education Research's [NIEER] state/local preschool analysis) (Friedman-Krauss et al., 2022). We then disaggregated funding streams by age group (infant and toddler, preschoolers, and school-aged), nationally and state by state.
Results:Many states spent significantly more than national reporting captured. By analyzing state budget expenditures, we captured over $6.7 billion of state-specific ECE funding that had not otherwise been accounted for in national reporting for FY22. We found 18 states spent more on child care than their required CCDF match or maintenance of effort.Our analysis also shows that even when unreported state investments are considered, states still substantially underinvest in their youngest learners – especially infants and toddlers. Only three states contributed more state revenue to infant and toddler care and education than they received from federal funding sources. States’ investments in preschoolers were more evenly split across state and federal funding sources.
Implications:Our analyses reveal that states are investing significantly more in ECE than previously reported, especially on child care, early intervention, and home visiting programs. Still, public investments in school-aged education and care dwarf ECE spending. Additionally, state and local investments vary significantly from state to state, and by age group within states.

Author

• Theresa A Hawley, Northern Illinois University
  Presenting Author