Determinants of Household Participation in Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Program
By Milagros Nores, W. Steven Barnett and Stephanie M. Curenton (2011)
Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK) has shown tremendous growth, serving about half of the state’s 4-year-olds in 2005, its first year of operation, and about 66 percent currently. However, the lack of universal participation raises questions about the extent to which program awareness, socio-economic background, or race and ethnic differences affect participation decision making and raises concerns about equity of access to programs. NIEER investigated the determinants of household awareness of and participation in the VPK program.