Early Childhood Facts About Early Care and Education

There is no doubt that the quality of the early childhood years, including the type and quality of early care and education has a significant impact on school readiness . The United States Department of Education has been following an early childhood cohort of 4 million children since 2001. One part of the study is to collect data on the types of early childhood settings where early childhood services have been provided and to collect data on the early care and education of this cohort of children.

One of the key findings of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study is that the greater percentage (57%) of the 4 year olds, from the 2001 birth cohort, received center-based early care and education services. This percentage included Head Start early care and education. Some of the other types of early childhood settings identified in the early childhood longitudinal study were: in home, relative care, home-care with non relative, and multiple arrangements. Twenty-two (22%) of the children followed in the early childhood study had no non-parental early care and education arrangements.

There was a difference noted in the early childhood study between early care and education and race and ethnicity. One of the findings is that there was a smaller percentage of Pacific Islander and Hispanic children, when compared with White, Black, Asian, or American Indian/Alaskan Native children, in early care and education settings.

The early childhood longitudinal study also showed racial and ethnic differences in the use of Head Start as an early care and education option. There was a larger percentage (25%) of Black children and American Indian (31%) utilizing Head Start as their primary early care and education service. These percentages are compared to 7% for white children and 5% for Asian children.

The early childhood study indicated that as parents' highest level of education increased, so did their use of center-based early care and education services. The study showed 43% of 4 year old children enrolled in center-based early care and education programs, parents' had less than a high school education. This percentage is compared to 71% when the parents had some graduate or professional education.

So, what is this early childhood study telling parents, legislators, and early care and education professionals? It is telling us that a high percentage of the children at greatest risk for not being ready for school (parents who have less than a high school education) are also not in early care and education programs.

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