Children who attend pre-school do better in life, report says

WASHINGTON - Children enrolled in quality pre-school programmes are more likely to graduate from high school, hold down jobs and less likely to be on welfare or end up in jail, said a report released on Monday.

The report by the advocacy group Legal Momentum and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Workplace Centre, analysed recent studies on the economic and other impact of good early education.

"Research shows that quality early care and education programmes are worthy of taxpayer investment because they pay significant returns in both the short and long-term," said Leslie Calman, director of the New York-based Legal Momentum's Family Initiative.

"The public provides significant financial incentives and tax breaks to other industries. Why not early care and education?" she asked.

The report cited a study began 40 years ago that looked at the economic impact of good pre-schooling on 123 low-income African American children who were assessed to be at high risk of school failure.

One half of the group got high-quality early education and the other did not.

The group that received quality education -- by well trained teachers and meeting childhood educational standards -- was more likely to complete school, have better jobs, a higher income, own homes and less likely to be on welfare or turn to crime, said the report.

"Children who get a good start are less likely to need expensive special education classes and more likely to graduate," said Calman.

The report estimated every dollar invested in high quality child care, with low student-teacher ratio and qualified staff, as well as early education saved taxpayers as much as US$13 ($18) later on in public education, criminal justice and welfare costs over the next few decades as well as increased tax collections in the long term.

The National Child Care Association estimated the preschool industry employed about 900,000 people as licensed providers and teachers with another 2 million working as "family, friend and neighbour" child care providers, said the report.

A conservative calculation of the licensed child care's direct revenue was US$43 billion in 2002, the report added.

"While virtually every state has maintained economic development funding at high levels in order to aid job growth, state after state has made cutbacks in child care and early education," said the report.

Calman said early childhood teachers earned an average wage of about US$17,000 a year and only a third had health insurance.

"It's unconscionable and counterproductive," said Calman of the salaries paid to people teaching young children.

- REUTERS