A powerful new study — which demonstrated long-term results by following children from birth until age 35 — found<br />that high-quality care during the earliest years can influence whether both mothers and children born into disadvantage lead more successful lives.<br />The Department of Health and Human Services says child care should cost 7 percent of a family’s income at most —<br />but 42 percent of families who buy care for young children spend considerably more than that, according to census data analyzed by Beth Mattingly at the University of New Hampshire.<br />Children who attended the high-quality programs had slightly more years of schooling<br />and an increased likelihood of living beyond 65 — and their children also got more education.<br />According to the Tax Policy Center, it would increase the after-tax income of families with children by an average of 0.2 percent, or $190.<br />Yet recent studies show that of any policy aimed to help struggling families, aid for high-quality care<br />has the biggest economic payoff for parents and their children — and even their grandchildren.<br />The study analyzed two well-known experimental programs in North Carolina, which offered free, full-time care<br />to low-income children age 8 weeks to 5 years, most of whom were black and lived with a single mother.<br />“Families are just not able to succeed the way that it’s set up,” said Ms. Cross, who is 35 and lives in Portland, Ore.<br />She found out about a Head Start school on the college’s campus, one of the few free early childhood programs for low-income families.
