Study Shows Substantial Economic Returns on Investments in Comprehensive Early Childhood Programs

A recent cost-benefit analysis of large-scale, publicly-funded programs early intervention programs concludes that society reaps substantial benefits from investments in a comprehensive program of supports for low income children. The report, Age-26 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Child-Parent Center Early Education Program, conducted and written by Arthur J. Reynolds, Judy A. Temple, Barry A.B. White, and Suh-Ruu Oh of the University of Minnesota, and Dylan L. Robertson of Chicago Public Schools, and funded by the National Institutes of Health was published in the current issue of Child Development. It looks at records of nearly 1,000 children who started attending programs at Child-Parent Centers in Chicago at age 3 or 4, and those of a control group attending another preschool or no preschool at all. The study followed these children through age 26.

The study found that a comprehensive early education program for low-income children is estimated to generate almost $11 of economic benefits over a child’s lifetime for every dollar spent initially on the program. Previous cost-benefit analysis findings for early childhood intervention programs, such as studies on the Perry Preschool Program, also showed that total economic benefits exceeded costs of the programs. These findings, however, were based on small scale model programs ( Perry preschool tracked only 123 students) that had an intensive level of services that were not typical of programs routinely implemented in public schools.

The Chicago Child-Parent Centers that were the focus of the present study provide services to preschool and early-age students and their parents who live in targeted, low-income areas. The centers were established in 1967 and currently operate in 25 schools, offering comprehensive child and family services. The preschool program runs 3 hours per day, five days per week during the 9-month school year, and usually includes a six-week summer program. After full-day or part-day kindergarten, services continue in the affiliated schools under the direction of the curriculum parent-resource teacher. According to Dr. Reynolds, “high-quality instruction from well-qualified teachers, a high level of parental involvement, availability of family services and a low teacher-to-student ratio” were particularly important to the success of the CPC program.

Overall economic benefits to society (benefits to society are the sum of benefits to participating children and benefits to the general public, such as averted expenditures for remedial education and child welfare spending) for investments in the preschool program were $10.83 per dollar invested. Major areas of program benefits are: reductions in expenditures for school remedial services, increases in lifetime earnings, compensation, and government tax revenues, reductions in criminal justice system expenditures for youth and adult crime, reductions in expenditures for the child welfare system, adult depression and substance misuse.