BENCHMARKING: THE IMPACT OF PRE-KINDERGARTEN

operations available for inspection if requested, but there are no regular inspections or standards to meet.

Registered Child Care Homes – Home-based care is provided by one or more adults for four to six children based on child ratio/for children four years of age or younger. Registered homes must meet state standards for care and maintain mandated child-staff ratios based on the ages of the children.

Licensed Child Care Homes – Home-based care is provided by up to three adults for up to 12 children of any age birth through age 13. Licensed homes must meet State standards for care and maintain mandated child-staff ratios and maximum group sizes based on the ages of the children.

Licensed Child Care Centers – Facility-based care is provided for 7 or more children under 14 years old for less than 24 hours per day. Published standards are required to be followed and centers are routinely monitored and inspected. Though some providers refer to themselves as ‘Private Preschools’ and may receive additional accreditations, they still must be licensed by DFPS as a licensed child care center and thus are included in this category.

Benchmarking: The Impact of Pre-Kindergarten

Supporters of universal pre-kindergarten contend that offering students the opportunity to attend publicly funded pre-k programs results in positive long-term effects. Universal pre-k advocacy groups assert that attending pre-k reduces the likelihood of repeating a grade or being placed in special education class and increases the likelihood of earning a high school degree and attending college. Proponents maintain that public pre-k programs benefit children in all socioeconomic status, although findings indicate that preschool education has a larger benefit for disadvantaged children.6 James J. Heckman, Nobel Memorial Prize winner in economics, dedicated his career to assessing the value of investing in human capital development. He is best known for his research on Return on Investment (ROI) related to investments made in early childhood education for disadvantaged children. His research is largely based on evidence from the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program conducted in the early 1960s.7 Children from the program were systematically followed through age 40. Information on earnings, employment, education, crime and a variety of other outcomes were collected at various ages of the study participants. His most recent work on the Perry Preschool program estimates annual social rates of return between 7% and 10% per year based on increased school and career achievement as well as reduced costs in remedial education, health and criminal justice system expenditures. According to Heckman, “our economic future depends on

6 (W. Steven Barnett, 2013) 7 (James J. Heckman, 2009)