- With tight budgets, states don’t scrimp on early education, By Cheryl Wetzstein, December 7, 2010, Washington Times: “Even as state legislators slice budgets for 2011, many lawmakers have crossed party lines to boost or maintain state spending on early child education programs, according to a report. The upbeat preschool funding report was released from Pre-K Now, a project of the Pew Center on the States. Still, 2011 promises to be another year for revenue-starved states to look for places – including early education – to reduce spending or demand the biggest bang for every buck…”
- State’s pre-kindergarten suffers funding decrease, By Christine Rogel, December 10, 2010, Las Cruces Sun-News: “Andrea Fierro depends on government-subsidized child care as a single mother with two children and a full-time job. Without it, she said she’d have to quit work and sign up for unemployment. ‘Here I am, a single mom trying to make ends meet,’ she said. ‘I would end up paying $900-plus for my two girls to go (to day care) and I don’t even bring that much home.’ An estimated 1,000 children depend on government-subsidized child care in Las Cruces. And at most child-care centers, 75 to 80 percent of children are subsidized, said Carolann Hoban, director of Living Hope Montessori, in an October interview. New Mexico’s pre-kindergarten program is experiencing its first significant funding decrease since the program began in fiscal year 2006, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Center on the States…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty