NIH Radio
High-quality preschool program produces long-term economic payoff
Brief Description:
A cost-benefit analysis of early education finds $4 to $11 in benefits for every dollar spent on these programs.
Transcript:
Ehrhardt: New analysis shows that an early education program generates economic benefits far greater than the cost of the program.
Griffin: The researchers evaluated the effectiveness of the Chicago Public Schools federally funded Child-Parent Centers, or CPCs.
Ehrhardt: Dr. James Griffin, is with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. He explains that CPC facilities are staffed by certified teachers, offer instruction in reading and math, as well as educational field trips. The centers provide meals and health screening for children ages 3 through 9, and skills training for parents.
Griffin: The study results strongly suggest that the program produced lasting economic benefits, even for children who completed only part of the program.
Ehrhardt: Dr. Griffin says researchers found four to eleven dollars worth of economic benefits for each dollar spent on the program. Benefits included increased earning power, once the children become adults. Benefits also included reduced costs to society, for example less special education and less interaction with the judicial system.
Griffin: So projected over lifetime, what they found is the children who attended the program at age three, at age 26, the return was nearly $11 for every dollar spent.
Ehrhardt: Griffin explains how researchers analyzed data from more than 1,500 children, now adults, who participated in the program.
Griffin: Researchers surveyed study participants and their parents and analyzed their education, employment, criminal justice, and child welfare records for the participants through age 26.
Ehrhardt: Some groups of children benefited even more than others.
Griffin: So, for example, for children who lived in the highest poverty neighborhoods, the returns were four to 10 times higher than children living in less disadvantaged areas.
Ehrhardt: Boys, children from high-risk homes, and those who started the program at a younger age benefitted even more than others.
Griffin: Overall, the size of the study and the nature of the program suggest these results can be generalized to other settings. And, more importantly, these findings add a significant weight to the idea that investing in early childhood education has returns for the individuals and for society.
Ehrhardt: This cost-benefit analysis was conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and the Chicago Public Schools system. For more information on early education and this study, visit www.nichd.nih.gov. This is Britt Ehrhardt at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
About This Audio Report
Date: 3/08/2011
Reporter: Britt Ehrhardt
Sound Bite: Dr. James Griffin
Topic: early education, preschool, cost benefit analysis
Institute(s):
NICHD
Additional Info: High-quality preschool program produces long-term economic payoff
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