The ABCs of Child Care
This guide was created to introduce community development organizations to the child care field, and help them partner effectively with early care and education providers to build or improve their facilities. It includes information about different types of child care programs and settings; steps for finding a suitable program operator; an overview of operating costs and revenue sources; and potential roles for community developers.
Introduction
Along with the essential care these programs offer, research findings show that programs with highly qualified staff and a focus on children’s developmental needs can help level the academic playing field for disadvantaged children. Program evaluations and research on brain development have supported the case for what is increasingly called “preschool,” “early education” or “early childhood education.”1 Studies show that the benefits of high quality programs can last well into adulthood: “graduates” of these programs complete more years of schooling, are less likely to engage in criminal activity, and earn more as adults on average than their counterparts in lowerquality programs.
These findings have prompted school districts, states, child advocates, business leaders, school reformers and philanthropists to focus on making more high quality programs available to children. And because of the evidence that children gain valuable cognitive and social skills from quality early education, all parents, not just working parents, are seeking these programs for their children. In a quickly unfolding trend, the majority of states themselves now offer state funded preschool or pre-k programming for at least some children.
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