Investing in Young Children

On October 13, the Center on Children and Families at Brookings and the National Institute for Early Education Research released a new collection of papers that assesses the field of early childhood education and child care. Edited by Senior Fellow Ron Haskins and W. Steven Barnett of Rutgers University, Investing in Young Children: New Directions in Federal Preschool and Early Childhood Policy focuses on Early Head Start, Head Start, and home visiting programs. The editors recommend promising reforms for all three programs, including closing ineffective Head Start centers or giving other program operators the opportunity to compete for Head Start funds. Other recommendations include offering a few states broad regulatory relief to innovate and coordinate Head Start with other state preschool educational programs and child care.

To address these issues, the Center on Children and Families hosted a discussion featuring Haskins and Barnett. A panel of experts and program administrators offered their views on the analysis, especially on the recommendations to reform Head Start.

Speakers and panelists took audience questions.