Useful Partner Content
We want you to have easy access to the studies, statistics, and resources we use. We hope they help you!
Health
Tips for Parents
- The CDC’s Developmental Monitoring
- Birth to Five: Watch Me Thrive! US Department of Education. A resource from the US DoE that helps parents understand important developmental mile stones for their child and offers guidance about early screening.
- Florida KidCare offers quality, affordable health and dental insurance for kids. From birth through the end of age 18, Florida children are eligible for head to toe coverage, even if one or both parents are working.
- Early Steps offers services to eligible infants and toddlers, age birth to 36 months, who have or are at-risk for developmental disabilities or delays.
State of Health Care for Children in Florida
Studies about the Importance of Early Developmental, Behavioral and Emotional Screening
- Proven Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions: Rand Corporation. Discusses the impacts that early intervention has on multiple areas of young children’s lives as well as the positive financial effects that early intervention has for society.
- Early Detection of Developmental and Behavioral Problems
- Visualizing Early Childhood Development
- Promoting Optimal Development: Screening for Behavioral and Emotional Problems. American Academy of Pediatrics. This report from the AAP talks about the importance of screening for emotional and behavioral problems and why they are important.
- School Readiness American Academy of Pediatrics.
Studies about the Importance of Health Coverage for Children
Statistics We Cite
- As of 2021, more than 343,000 Florida children do not have health insurance. That was the ninth largest number of uninsured children in the nation that year. We know that uninsured children do not receive adequate care and do not seek prompt treatment when they are ill.
- Nearly 1 out of every 5 children in the United States has a special healthcare need.
- Early identification of developmental or behavioral delays and illness is proven to save society money and produce better results for children.
- Dental health problems were responsible for 1/3 of elementary school absences among children from economically vulnerable communities.
- Uninsured children do not receive adequate care and do not seek prompt treatment when they are ill.
- Research by The Washington Economics Group shows that every dollar spent by the state to improve the health and well-being of children creates an aggregate total of $4.55 in economic output. That is a return of 455 percent on investment.
Education
Tips for Parents
- A Quality Checklist for Evaluating Early Learning Programs
- Know Your Childcare Facility
- Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or VPK is a free educational program that prepares 4-year-olds for kindergarten and beyond.
- Florida’s School Readiness Program or SR offers financial assistance to eligible low-income families for early education and care.
The State of Education in Florida
- The State of Preschool 2021. National Institute for Early Education Research. Gives a brief overview about the current state of Florida’s VPK program along with its strengths and weaknesses.
- Florida VPK Spending Data
- Florida Grade Level Reading Scores
- Florida State Budget 2018
- Florida Department of Education Budget Archive
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center
- Florida Department of Education: Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener
- The Wall Street Journal: “When the Safety Net Pays for Itself.”
Studies about the Importance of Quality Early Learning
- The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects – Brookings Institution. A study that discusses the current state of Early Childhood programs across the county and the importance of high quality programs.
- The Effects of Florida’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program – University of Virginia EdPolicyWorks. Discusses the history of the Florida’s VPK program along with some analysis.
- Graduates of Early Childhood Program Show Greater Educational Gains as Adults – National Institutes of Health. This news release from the NIH talks about how the benefits of an Early Childhood program go beyond giving a child a head start in their elementary school years.
- The Price of Youth Incarceration
- The Lifecycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program – The Heckman Equation. Research summary that discusses the social, economic, health, and educational benefits of Early Childhood Programs.
Statistics We Cite
- Floridians voted for VPK in 2002. VPK today enrolls more than 171,199 Florida four year olds. But many programs are still not high quality.
- Nearly 50% of pre-k children are deemed ‘not ready’ for kindergarten when they leave pre-k.
- Florida ranks 42nd out of 50 states in pupil funding, but has the highest levels of 4-year-olds enrolled in public Pre-K programs in the nation. Florida allocates roughly half the national average of per-pupil funding to Pre-K programs.
- Expanding early learning initiatives would provide benefits to society of roughly $8.60 for every $1 spent, about half of which comes from increased earnings for children when they grow up, according to a recent analysis by the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
- As of 2017, Florida spends less than $2,500 per child per year on a pre-K student, but spends more than $54,000 per child per year to incarcerate a juvenile.
- The state’s prekindergarten program – a program that serves more than 171,199 4 year olds – meets just 2 of 10 nationally recommended standards and ranks 42nd out of 43 reporting states in per pupil funding.
- A fifth of our public high school students do not graduate, and almost half of 10th grade public school students in Florida cannot read at grade level.
- Only 1.5% of the state’s overall budget and 4% of its education budget is spent on programs that benefit children in the early childhood years.
- Since Florida’s VPK program began in the 2005-2006 school year, more than 1,800,000 children have matriculated. The first class of high school seniors benefiting from VPK graduated in 2018 at a rate of 86.1%. The high school graduation rate in 2005 was 58.8%.
Parent Support
Tips for Parents
- Help Me Grow can be accessed by dialing 211 in 38 of Florida’s 67 counties. The service provides early identification of developmental delay and/or behavioral concerns, and links families to community support.
- Early Steps offers services to eligible infants and toddlers, age birth to 36 months, who have or are at-risk for developmental disabilities or delays.
Studies about the Importance of Quality Parent Support Systems
- The Impact of Family Involvement on the Education of Children Ages 3 to 8 – MDRC. A report that discusses the vital role that family involvement has on the development of their children’s reading, math, and social skills.
- The Science of Neglect: The Persistent Absence of Responsive Care Disrupts the Developing Brain – National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Defines Neglect and explains how and why it negatively impacts a child’s development.
- The Influence of Parenting on Early Childhood Health and Health Care Utilization – Journal of Pediatric Psychology. This journal article discusses the impact of parenting practices on children’s health and healthcare.
- Parenting and Outcomes for Children – Joseph Rowntree Foundation. This review provides an insight into different parenting theories and how the parent-child relationship impacts a child’s social outcomes.
- Special Kids, Special Parents, Special Education – University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. This report details the hardships that the parents of children with special needs often face when attempting to ensure that their children receive the educations that they need while also highlighting possible solutions that can be pursued.
- Fighting Rural Child Poverty
Statistics We Cite
- As many as one-half of American children with a developmental delay will not be identified by the time they enter kindergarten, even though most will show mild developmental delays by two years of age.
- Supporting parents means more of the one in six children who have one or more developmental delay will get the care they need in this crucial development period.
- If we can help parents learn the signs and act early, we will shepherd an additional 8% of Florida children through their developmental delays and help them succeed in school and in life.
- Estimates indicate that early screening and treatment of children with developmental and behavioral delays can save $30,000 to $100,000 per child over the long run.
- Children who are exposed to serious early stress develop an exaggerated stress response that, over time, weakens their defense system against disease, from heart disease to diabetes and depression.
Disclaimer: These links to third-party websites are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement or approval by The Children’s Movement of Florida or its affiliate organizations and partners.