When It Comes to Children, Invest From the Beginning

Over the last 34 years Social Security and Medicare have dramatically cut poverty among the elderly. In the late 1950s, one out of every three elderly persons was living below the poverty line; today, barely one out of 10 is poor. But since the early 1980s, the poverty rate among children in America has increased. One out of five live below the poverty line. Fully 37% of African American and Latino children are poor, many of them living in extreme deprivation. The federal government devotes more than one-third of the budget to help the elderly through Social Security and Medicare, but just 9% is spent on children.

The investment in the care and education of children is woefully inadequate, and it is creating serious problems for the future: increases in school failure, school dropouts, drug abuse and crime. To deny early nurturing and educational experiences for millions because their parents are poor is both unjust and unwise. At least 5 million children, and possibly as many as 15 million, are left alone at home each week. The Clinton administration correctly notes that school-age children who are unsupervised after school are “far more likely to use alcohol, drugs and tobacco, commit crimes, receive poor grades and drop out of school than those who are involved in supervised, constructive activities.” Adults with such a history often have difficulty finding a job or keeping one. Yet the president’s budget for after-school activities is enough to serve barely 1 million children. Los Angeles County supervisors last week allocated $74 million to create the largest after-school child care system in the country. This is moving in the right direction, but it should be a national priority.

As scientists discover more about brain development, the importance of early learning is becoming more clear. Education is a lifelong process, but the opportunities of the first few years are critical. Infants who are deprived of sensitive, loving caregivers and a stimulating environment are likely to be stunted in their emotional and cognitive development. Preschool children who miss the chance to become familiar with the alphabet, the spelling of their names and basic concepts undergirding the learning process are likely to be unprepared for kindergarten and face difficult struggles in the higher grades. Preschool programs such as Head Start can make a difference in the life of a child by stimulating imagination and laying the foundations for reading, writing and working with numbers. Head Start funding has increased, but only four out of every 10 eligible children are enrolled in the program. Early Head Start, a promising program for children under 3, serves only 1% of eligible babies and toddlers.

Across the nation the lack of affordable, high-quality child care for single-parent families and millions of households where both parents work out of the home is a source of family stress and risks to children. The great majority of child care centers offer service that is rated mediocre to poor. They are understaffed, and caregivers are undertrained, under-supervised and underpaid.

But even poor-quality child care is expensive; the care for a 4-year-old child ranges from $4,000 to $10,000 a year or more. Infant care costs more. Ten million children have no access to care, whether in centers or private homes, unless their families receive assistance from the federal government. But existing federal grants provide enough funds for only 1.4 million children.

The wealthiest and most powerful of the world’s nations has the resources to end child poverty in America. But it will require a shift in priorities. Congress should appropriate at least $20 billion in new funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant. Tax credits for low- and middle-income working parents should be expanded so that they can better afford good quality child care or spend more time at home with their children.

Education reform is now accepted in principle by both parties. Smaller classes, better teachers and a more attractive school environment are proposed. These can make a difference in a child’s ability to learn. However, before many children have reached kindergarten, they have already encountered stumbling blocks to learning. We need to begin at the beginning when children are biologically primed for learning, and their boundless curiosity and hopes for their future have not yet been crushed.