This article originally appeared in the November-December 1999 Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance for Children.
Last year a California Department of Education task force called for universal, free, high-quality preschool for California three- and four-year-olds. To most observers of state politics, that seemed like a very faraway goal.
Meanwhile, California's system of child care subsidies for low-income families only meets an estimated one-quarter to one-half of the need.
But child care advocates and experts are increasingly calling for a whole new system of care and education for young children, based on the view that high-quality early care and education is a necessary public investment. And in the last few years, some other states have taken big steps toward that goal.
Georgia was the first state to adopt a program of universal pre-kindergarten for all four-year-olds in 1994. It was the brainchild of then-Governor Zell Miller, who campaigned for universal pre-K as a way to prevent youth problems like crime and teen pregnancy.
At first some child care providers were worried that they would lose children to free preschools, says Roberta Malavenda, deputy director of Quality Care for Children, an Atlanta resource and referral agency. But child care centers as well as schools can be pre-K providers. And parents "think pre-kindergarten is the greatest thing since sliced bread," says Malavenda. "And if you make something open and universal it has a lot more political clout."
Now Connecticut and New York have also adopted programs leading to universal preschool.
Meanwhile a few states, including Rhode Island, Illinois, Vermont, Massachusets, and Oklahoma, have been working on a different strategy: providing child care subsidies to all families who need them. Here's a look at three states' campaigns for comprehensive early care and education.
Connecticut's School Readiness program, created by the state legislature in 1997, provides state grants to the 14 largest school districts and some smaller districts to create free, quality preschool for three- and four-year-olds, with links to health care, parent involvement, employment programs, and elementary schools. Each participating district must create a school-readiness council that includes both the mayor and the superintendent of schools. Priority for funds must go to full-day, year-round programs.
The School Readiness program is the result of many years of building community support for quality early care, led by Connecticut's strong, statewide child advocacy organizations. As a result of their efforts, the state created a Commission on Children, which includes heads of state departments, community organizations, parents, and service providers.
The Commission on Children worked with legislators to design the School Readiness program, then waged a vigorous campaign for its passage in the legislature, including a media campaign, public forums, meetings with legislators, and distribution of materials through child care centers, social service agencies, and pediatrician's offices. Statewide and local advocacy organizations also mobilized.
The Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition, for example, mobilized its network of activist parents and community organizations to call, write letters, visit legislators, and hold public meetings. Key to public support was a study showing that Connecticut school children who had attended preschool did better on statewide tests. Also important was the leadership of business leaders, especially retired bank president David Carson, and of key legislators, including House Speaker Tom Ritter.
"It was a huge campaign," says Laura Lee Simon, chair of the Commission on Children. She estimates that advocates put in "six years of intensive campaigning" that led to the School Readiness program. Their long-term goal is universal preschool, as well as programs for infants and toddlers, she adds, "but now we're making sure there's an appropriate level of funding to build strong local councils."
Rhode Island now guarantees a child care subsidy to all families with incomes below the income ceiling. Next year that ceiling will rise to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, about $34,000 a year for a family of three.
The subsidy program includes regular early childhood and afterschool care and also covers activities (community athletics, art, music, etc.) for children up to the age of 16. It also subsidizes half of the cost of providing health coverage to child care workers.
The key to Rhode Island's success was the development of the relationship between community groups and the state government, says Grace Beiser, coordinator for the Rhode Island Children's Cabinet. A 1997 meeting on child care hosted by the Danforth Foundation brought together Rhode Island community organizations, children's advocates, legislators, the superintendent of schools, and the heads of government agencies.
Research and public education by nonprofit advocacy groups had built public awareness of the need for more subsidies, and a report by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, a business-leaders' financial "watchdog" group, argued for investments in child care from a business perspective.
Catherine Walsh of Rhode Island Kids Count emphasizes that there was a "concerted effort to have everyone come together on a single plan," to avoid competition among children's programs.
The state of New York is on its way to universal pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds, although a budget battle this year slowed its progress. Pre-K started in some districts in 1998 and was scheduled to be in every district by 2003. Local pre-kindergarten boards run the programs. Currently pre-K is only 2.5 hours a day, but districts are encouraged to make it easy for families to combine preschool with child care. Child care centers and other community organizations can also become pre-K providers.
For years child care advocates had been working with New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who proposed the pre-K legislation. Long-standing statewide advocacy organizations publicized the Carnegie Corporation's call for universal pre-kindergarten in its 1996 report on education in the primary grades.
When Assembly member Silver proposed the pre-K legislation, a broad coalition of child care advocates successfully campaigned for the measure. Then in 1999 Governor Pataki proposed a budget that would have cut school funding and eliminated all specific programs like pre-kindergarten, allowing local districts to spend their state education funds any way they wanted.
Child care advocates, along with teachers' unions, pediatricians, child welfare advocates, and civic groups like the League of Women Voters, joined together in the Emergency Coalition to Save Universal Pre-Kindergarten. They conducted letter-writing and media campaigns, sent kindergarteners' drawings to legislators, and held public meetings. In the end, they saved the program, although this year's funding is not enough to keep New York on the schedule toward universal pre-kindergarten by 2003.
A universal plan "reframes the discussion," about early childhood programs, says Nancy Kolben of Child Care, Inc., a New York City resource and referral center. "This is an educational program," says Kolben, "so it's important for all kids."
Reporting by Jean Tepperman also contributred to this article.
For more information on campaigns for quality early care and education around the country, contact:
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