Federal Expenditures on Pre-Kindergarteners and Kindergarteners in 2008 (Ages 3 through 5)

Federal Expenditures onPre-Kindergartners andKindergartners in 2008(Ages 3 through 5)Adam Kent, Urban InstituteJennifer Macomber, Urban InstituteJulia Isaacs, Brookings InstitutionTracy Vericker, Urban InstituteElizabeth H. Bringewatt, University of Michigan Federal Expenditures onPre-Kindergartners andKindergartners in 2008(Ages 3 through 5)Adam Kent, Urban InstituteJennifer Macomber, Urban InstituteJulia Isaacs, Brookings InstitutionTracy Vericker, Urban InstituteElizabeth H. Bringewatt, University of MichiganMarch 2010The Urban Institute and The Brookings Institution Copyright © 2010. The Urban Institute. All rights reserved. Except for short quotes, no part of thisreport may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying, recording, or by information storage or retrieval system, without written permissionfrom the Urban Institute.The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization thatexamines the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation. The views expressed arethose of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.We are grateful to the Foundation for Child Development for sponsoring this research. This work was alsosupported by the Strategic Knowledge Fund, co-funded by the Foundation for Child Development andthe W.K. Kellogg Foundation. This work expands upon the groundbreaking work of Rebecca L. Clark,Rosalind Berkowitz King, Christopher Spiro, and C. Eugene Steuerle in Federal Expenditures onChildren: 1960–1997(Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2000, Assessing the New FederalismOccasional Paper 45) and, more recently, the work of Adam Carasso, C. Eugene Steuerle, and GillianReynolds in developing Kids’ Share 2007: How Children Fare in the Federal Budget(Washington, DC:The Urban Institute, 2007), and Kids’ Share 2008: How Children Fare in the Federal Budget(Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2008). Additionally, a recent report, Federal Expenditures onInfants and Toddlers in 2007,developed by Jennifer Macomber, Julia Isaacs, Tracy Vericker, Adam Kent,and Paul Johnson, and funded by the Harris Foundation and the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, pro-vided a valuable foundation for this work. We also thank Paul Johnson for his help with the analysis andthose who reviewed the report and offered many helpful insights, including Olivia Golden, AjayChaudry, and Jane Hannaway. iiiCONTENTSExecutive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5How Much Is Spent on Pre-Kindergartners and Kindergartners? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Where Are Funds Spent? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12How Are Funds Spent? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18What Are the Future Trends in Expenditures on Pre-Kindergartners andKindergartners Based on Current Policy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 vEXECUTIVE SUMMARYInvestments in high-quality programs during the formative years of pre-kindergarten and kindergartenare critical to both the development and future economic success of children. But how much does a nation seeking to improve future health, education, and economic outcomes of children invest inpre-kindergartners and kindergartners? This report provides a first-time analysis of the nation’s currentspending on pre-kindergartners and kindergartners by examining 2008 federal expenditures from morethan 100 federal programs on children ages 3 through 5. Findings provide a foundation for gauging thepriority the nation places on investing in children ages 3 through 5; provide a useful tool for conversa-tions focusing on state–federal collaborations and financing; and present a glimpse into what the futureholds for federal investments in pre-kindergartners and kindergartners.This report, focusing on children ages 3 to5, is one of a series of reports issued in the pastfew years on expenditures on children, looking at children overall (birth to age 18), infants andtoddlers (birth to age 2), and elementary-age children (ages 6 to 11). In addition to baselinefederal spending estimates, we also present stateand local spending comparison estimates