By W. Steven Barnett and Jason T. Hustedt
NIEER Policy Brief (Issue 23, April 2011)
Summary
How we fund early care and education varies greatly from program to program, across states, and across levels of government. Most funding sources exist independent of one another, in different departmental jurisdictions and local, state, and federal governments each have their own funding approaches. This brief reviews sources and models of public financing of early care and education and makes recommendations for improving upon what currently exists so as to remove barriers to increasing program access and quality.