Financing Child Care in the United States - Ewing Marion Kauffman ...

EDUCATION
Education is a powerful rationale for the allocation of state general fund revenue. The two
most common programmatic approaches supported through state education agencies are
preschool programs and after–school programs.
An explosion of preschool child care funding has
occurred as part of the education system, illustrated by
the chart on page 81, and highlighted in a series of
profiles on Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and
Texas. Many of the programs supported under the
“prekindergarten” or “preschool” rubric are part–day,
part–year programs. The profiles reflect the changing
orientation of state–funded prekindergarten programs.
The Texas program, as the longest standing effort
reviewed, requires that its program be offered in public
school classrooms, although partnerships with Head Start
and other child care programs are permitted. The newer
approaches, exemplified by the New York State Universal
PreKindergarten Program, New Jersey Early Childhood
Program Aid, and the Massachusetts Community
Partnerships for Children, place prekindergarten
programs in community child care sites and frequently
require that community child care programs be included
in the new “pre–k” system. Following Texas’ early lead,
these newer prekindergarten efforts often require teacher
certification (i.e. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York).
Use of programs standards through accreditation is
gaining in popularity, as evidenced by the Massachusetts
approach.
Financing for after–school programs is also connected to
the state education agencies, with California and Hawaii
sharing a common goal: to improve children’s academic
achievement. Hawaii’s A–Plus program was founded in
1990 and is the nation’s oldest universal after–school
program. All children attending public elementary schools
in Hawaii whose parents are working or in school are
potential program participants.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Higher education is starting to contribute to the financing of child care. The University of
California at Santa Cruz profile provides an illustration of how financial aid provided through
higher education may take the child care expenses of student parents into account. Profiles
on campus–based child care centers show ways in which revenue from university sources
as diverse as a university–controlled college bookstore, cafeteria, housing services and
hospital can be successfully consolidated to help support child care centers serving the
children of university students.
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