Whole Families benefit from access to quality, affordable early care and education.
For parents and caregivers, access to affordable childcare is crucial to finding and maintaining employment or postsecondary education. High-quality childcare gives adults the space they need to take steps forward, academically or on the job.
However, many Hoosier families can’t access or afford childcare, which is impeding the economic mobility of individuals and families while also holding back Indiana’s employers and the state’s economic development prospects by contributing to talent shortages in the workforce.
Access to quality early childhood education varies greatly between communities in Indiana. Check out Early Learning Indiana’s report Closing the Gap: An Assessment of Indiana’s Early Learning Opportunities to find an in-depth analysis of the state of access in your community and across Indiana.
A multi-year study from the Purdue Center for Early Learning found that children who attend the On My Way Pre-K program have stronger school readiness, language and literacy skills than their peers with similar family incomes who attend lower quality childcare or prekindergarten programs. What’s more, these gains continue through the third and fourth grades.
