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31 Mar 2016
Report

Unmet Need for Preschool Services in California: Statewide and Local Analysis

Jennifer Anthony, Susan Muenchow, Melissa Arellanes, and Karen Manship

California is home to more than one million three- and four-year-old children—a larger preschool population than in any other state, representing roughly 13 percent of this age group across the United States. However, while California leads the nation in its number of young children, the state is ranked among the 15 states producing the worst outcomes for youth, judged by such measures as high school graduation and exposure to poverty.

Although California’s investments in early care and education are increasing, large numbers of the state’s neediest preschool children still do not have access to early childhood education programs. This brief presents an analysis of the unmet need for preschool services in California at the state and local levels and concludes with a more detailed discussion of the policy implications of these findings.

Findings and Policy Implications

The analysis found that at least 33,209 four-year-olds and 136,588 three-year-olds will remain unserved in quality programs. Policy recommendations include the following:

  • The state should work to assign a unique identifier for each child enrolled in a program to allow a better understanding of the extent of dual enrollment and, ultimately, the reasons for it.
  • The state should provide higher reimbursement rates to better support state standards of quality.
  • The state might consider a formula that factors in both criteria for unmet need—number and percentage of eligible children not currently enrolled—when allocating new slots.
  • The state should continue to increase resources for the State Preschool Program so that more children have the advantage of two years of high-quality early childhood education.
PDF icon Unmet Need for Preschool Services in California: Statewide and Local Analysis (PDF)

Related Projects

tk image.jpg

Happy young students
Project

Study of California's Transitional Kindergarten Program

With the 2012-2013 school year, California established a new grade level called Transitional Kindergarten (TK), the first year of a two-year kindergarten experience for students who turn five between September 2 and December 2. When fully implemented, TK is intended to provide an additional year of early education for these children, with the goal of promoting their success in school. The Heising-Simons Foundation and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation are partnering with AIR to study the impact of TK on children’s academic and social-emotional skills in kindergarten, and how these impacts are related to program quality characteristics.

Related Work

10 Dec 2014
Longform Essay

preschoolers-books.jpg

preschoolers with books

What to Look for in a High Quality Preschool

The White House’s announcement December 10 of a $1-billion public-private investment in early childhood education programs raises critical questions about which program features will best help the projected 63,000 children affected learn and thrive. AIR’s early childhood experts weigh in here.
Topic: 
Education, Early Childhood and Child Development
1 Dec 2014
Blog Post

Susan_Muenchow_00241.jpg

Image of Susan Muenchow

Three Important Questions About Publicly Funded Preschools

With government-supported preschool alive, recovering from the recession, and growing again at the state level, Susan Muenchow offers three central questions when considering preschool expansion.
Topic: 
Education, Early Childhood and Child Development

Further Reading

  • Analysis of Options for Funding Universal Preschool in Sonoma County- Updated Report
  • Three Important Questions About Publicly Funded Preschools
  • Preschool Supply and Demand in the State of California
  • Estimating the Cost of Preschool for All in California: A Policy Brief
  • California Infant/Toddler Early Learning and Care Needs Assessment: A Policy Brief
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Image of Jennifer Anthony

Jennifer Anthony

Senior Researcher

Topic

Education
Early Childhood and Child Development

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

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