Quality Pre-Kindergarten is More Expensive Than You Think

Findings from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) report "Costs Per Child for Early Childhood Education and Care" seem to suggest that cost estimates show dramatic differences in per-child expenditures in programs such as Head Start/Early Start and what is actually reported. The research, which used all available government data, indicates that the actual per-child costs of the programs are substantially higher than what is often reported by government agencies. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), total state spending in 2004-05 on pre-kindergarten services was about $2.84 billion, with average per-child spending of about $3,551. Since there is a wide variation in what is considered full-time, full-year pre-kindergarten, AEI researchers adopted the NIEER definition, which is 50 hours per week for 49 weeks per year. For 2003-04, the Head Start Bureau reported an average per-child cost of about $7,222 per year. However, when applying the NIEER definition, AEI researchers found that Head Start’s per-child cost for full-time, full-year care was about $21,305. It is important to understand the costs associated with universal pre-kindergarten as it becomes a major issue in presidential campaigns.

For more information, visit: http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.26766,filter.all/pub_detail.asp