In 2008, the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation created the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program, a pilot program to provide families with scholarships to cover the cost of high-quality early childhood education (ECE) programs. Although there is a large body of research about the benefits of preschool specifically and early learning programs more generally, there is little research that clearly identifies the cost components of ECE programs. This report provides detailed cost data for a sample of 12 ECE programs participating in the scholarship program. It also provides data on the extent of services, program features, and characteristics of children served at the different types of ECE programs participating in the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program and the sources and amounts of funds used to pay for children attending the programs. On a per-hour per-child basis, the 12 sampled ECE programs' costs ranged from $3.47 to $19.06.
The report and research brief are linked to the RAND Corporation web site here:
Full Report: The Cost of Providing Quality Early Care and Education in Saint Paul, Minnesota (2011)
Research Brief: The Cost of Providing Quality Early Care and Education in Saint Paul, Minnesota (2011)
ISSUE BRIEFS: These fact sheets, published in September 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 describe the implementation of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program. Each summary includes what had been learned at the time of publishing about how the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship was effecting children, families, early care and education (ECE) programs, and the targeted communities in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A two page summary of each is available to view or download, in addition to the full reports.
A February 2011 fact sheet summarizes responses to a program survey about how scholarship funds impacted participating programs. The four page fact sheet is available to view or download.
Issue Brief 4 released in September 2011 describes a subset of participating parents' perceptions of the Scholarship Program in the final year of the evaluation.
EVALUATION ANNUAL REPORTS:
The Year 1 annual report on the evaluation of the pilot of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program covers the period from January to December 2008, the first full year of the program.
The Year 2 annual report covers the period January to December 2009 published in March 2010. The report describes how the scholarship model is being implemented and what has been learned thus far about its effects on children, families, early education programs, and the targeted pilot areas in Saint Paul. The report presents data about findings about the participating children and families; early education programs and the pilot community; and implementation activities, successes, challenges, and modifications made to address challenges. The report ends with a summary and the next steps in the evaluation. A two page summary is available to view or download, in addition to the full report.
The Year 3 annual report covers the period from January 2010 to December 2010, the third full year of the program. The report covers both process and outcome components. A two page summary is also available to view or download.
