Investing in high quality early childhood care and development programs, especially for the most disadvantaged children, promises high returns. Present coverage of Early Head Start, Head Start, child care and preschool—programs crucial to level the playing field and ensure every child entering school is ready to learn—remains exceptionally low.  Early Head Start currently covers only an estimated 3 percent of eligible infants and young children; Head Start, more than 40 years after it was established, serves less than two-thirds of those who are eligible. 

The multiple benefits of quality early childhood programs extend beyond success in school far into adulthood.  Studies tracking program participants over a number of years indicate they were more likely to be in better health, to have completed higher levels of education and have higher earnings, to be married or in stable relationships, to be less likely to commit a crime or to have been incarcerated. Cost-benefit analyses show that the positive outcomes of these investments in early education produce a rate of return to society of about 16 percent each year, a rate exceptionally higher than returns to most stock market investments or traditional economic development projects such as sports stadiums and tax incentives for businesses.

Our nation simply cannot afford not to significantly increase investments in early childhood development and care.