Early Child Development
What KIDS COUNT is Doing to Promote
Early Child Development
Since our inception in 1991, KIDS COUNT has been committed to improving early education, particularly for at-risk children. Our very first project was DAY ONE, a successful statewide effort to educate new parents about the importance of providing a loving, stimulating environment for their babies. More recently, KIDS COUNT completed a three-year project to improve the quality of childcare in West Virginia by providing funding and technical support for national accreditation efforts. In 2006, KIDS COUNT developed a successful social marketing campaign, Every day, Every way!, aimed at educating parents and caretakers about the importance of love, talk, rhyme, read and play for children from birth to three. At the same time, we assisted health care providers in launching Reach Out and Read, a proven program that uses health care providers to talk to parents about the importance of reading to young children.
Since January of 2006, KIDS COUNT has been focused on improving the quality and accountability of childcare for low-income children in West Virginia. This effort is part of a three-year strategy to create the policy framework for a high-quality, early child development (ECD) system. From 2006 through early 2007, KIDS COUNT led an effort to assess the state of West Virginia's ECD system and support legislation to improve ECD quality, particularly for low-income children. The legislation did not pass on our initial attempt. However, great progress was made in elevating the importance of high-quality ECD programs to at-risk children and to West Virginia's future.
In 2008, KIDS COUNT will focus on building support among three key audiences. First we will focus on getting the Governor, First Lady and key legislators on board for an ECD legislative initiative in 2009. Second we will expand the scope of our ECD coalition and solidify existing partnerships to reach consensus about our policy agenda. Finally, we will gather data from low-income, working parents and childcare providers who serve low-income children and communicate their challenges in getting and providing high-quality childcare in our 2007 Data Book.
Although part of 2007 will be spent identifying the specific policy priorities of importance to decision-makers, advocates, parents and providers, the policies we anticipate addressing are:
- Developing a formal structure to plan and govern ECD programs;
- Creating incentives to improve quality;
- Improving teacher compensation; and
- Ensuring program accountability.
These four policy areas were identified during our 2006 policy audit as being critical to improving West Virginia's ECD system. Throughout 2008, KIDS COUNT is participating in a process ordered by the Governor to study ECD quality, financing and governance and make recommendations about the best way to improve in each of those areas. Meanwhile, KIDS COUNT is launching a grassroots campaign called "Kids First Communities" that will build broad public support for new state investments in childcare quality.
The Facts
There are approximately 108,000 children below the age of five in West Virginia. Approximately 29 percent are poor, and approximately 70% of all four-year-olds are enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten and Head Start.
Are at-risk children receiving high-quality, early education?
The quality of West Virginia's early education program is undetermined. We know from Head Start research that its programs are generally superior to the typical child care program and its benefits are significant, and we know that accredited child care programs have the ingredients for quality. However, there are no third-party evaluations of program impacts for any of the center-based programs.
What are West Virginia's Early Child Development Programs?
The major center-based programs in West Virginia are:
Pre-Kindergarten
(for all four-year-olds and three-year-olds with special needs)
Currently serves 7,943 four-year-olds. (There are 19,966 four-year-olds in West Virginia.)
Full implementation is required by 2012.
State spending is $45 million. This investment leverages $20.3 million in federal (Titles I and II, IDEA, TANF and Head Start) and other funds.
Head Start
(for three- and four-year-olds)
Currently serves 7,301 children (2006.)
Sixty-two percent of West Virginia's eligible children are enrolled.
Families are eligible if their income is at or below the federal poverty level. Each program may enroll 10% of its allotted spaces to children who are not poor.
Federal spending is $47,327,581.
Early Head Start
Only 394 pregnant women and children are enrolled.
Families are eligible if their income is at or below the federal poverty level.
Only five Head Start grantees have an Early Head Start program.
Federal spending is $4,327,581 (2005.)
Childcare Assistance
9,397 families receive child care subsidies from the Department of Health and Human Services (2003.)
Only 23% of eligible families are served by the subsidy program.
Families are eligible for full reimbursement of their childcare costs, if their income is at or below 40 percent of the federal poverty level. Families are eligible for partial payment, with a co-pay, if their income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
As of April 2005, there are 578 licensed childcare centers in West Virginia; 155 of these programs are Head Start centers.
Only 9% of all licensed childcare centers are nationally accredited (2006.)
There are 85 licensed family child care facilities and 2,288 registered family day care homes.
Proposed federal spending for state fiscal year 2005-06 is $50,710,344. State spending is $5,584,364.