Early Childhood Care and Education is Important for Minnesota
The future success of Minnesota is dependent on the success of our children. Too many of Minnesota's children are not fully prepared to be successful in life and the classroom.
Minnesota needs to address the issue of early childhood care and education for our children, families, and future. We must ensure that all young children in Minnesota are ready for school.
Where are we now?
Minnesota's children are receiving care and/or education from a vast and fragmented network of parents, friends, family, neighbors, and center-based care. Childcare choices are limited by access and cost for many families, resulting in inadequate growth and development of many of Minnesota's children.
- Childcare choices in Minnesota have eroded in the past 5 years, affecting nearly 40 percent of parents with low incomes, parents of color, those with a child who has a special need, and those whose primary language is not English.2
- Working families in Minnesota with incomes between 185 percent and 200 percent of poverty are not eligible for public health insurance or childcare subsidies.
- Financial contributions from families account for more than 70 percent of early childhood care and education spending in the state.
- Remaining funds come from the federal and state government, as well as other private and non-profit organizations.1
Too many families are not being served by any of today's access or funding sources, resulting in an early childhood care and education gap that leaves some children, often the most vulnerable, without adequate care and education.
Investing in Children is Critically Important
According to a study from the Minnesota Department of Education, almost 50 percent of children in Minnesota are not fully prepared for kindergarten. Additionally, research indicates that investments in high-quality early education yield a high public return in terms of lower educational costs, crime rates, and social service expenses, and the highest returns come from investments in at-risk children.2 If we do not create an early childhood care and education system that supports these children in the early years, the state will face more costly expenditures on these same individuals when they are adults.
We're Making Progress
Over the past several years, Minnesota has intensified its commitment to its youngest children, building an impressive array of innovation, research and pilot projects. Yet discussions throughout Minnesota have revealed an underlying sense that, in the aggregate, these efforts lack a unified direction and goal. Minnesota needs to establish a SYSTEM that ensures children are ready for school and for life.
- See the Asset Review prepared for this plan: Early care and education in Minnesota asset review, Wilder Research, December 2009.
- "Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return," fedgazette, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, March 2003.