Is Education Separate from Care?: Financing Education and Care for Children Younger than Kindergarten Age

Overview & Synopsis

In this article, the author presents two emerging state-level public policy trends in the United States, one toward universalizing pre-school services, and one toward systems for delivering early education and care. At this point, it is not clear whether the effect of the two trends will be to unite or divide the field of early education and care. The first creates a clear vision of pre-school as education, the second builds a system of early education and care. Thus, future government support of early education and care will be different, depending on how each state organizes its resources.