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I don't think you can possibly put a "price" on a good program or even on education itself. Do you know how precious our son's preschool is to us? I can tell you that good programs help shape lives... and so do bad ones!

And there are so many factors that shape a childhood itself that I can't imagine how savings in, say, the juvenile justice department can be quantified with any sort of veracity. I have to admit that while reading your link, I also openly scoffed at this idea that the preschool would save taxpayers on childcare costs. Talk about a backward argument! How unfair is that sort of reasoning to the teachers, who ought be respected for their wisdom and good instruction? Even my teenage son gets more respect than that as a babysitter, for the value he has in moulding and shaping his siblings' lives. I wouldn't pay him his $5 an hour ($2 extra per poopie change!) and tell him, "Thanks for keeping my toddler out of juvi." How fatalistic!

I am pretty sure you've read other statistics recently that show no real discernable monetary savings in later years from Head Start "graduates." I don't think it should be all about the money. But I *do* think that it isn't necessarily a good idea to pour out bunches of money to send children to preschool *just* because their families are poor according to some income chart.

I would like to see more of the Parents as Teachers type of model (um, but without the politics) that enable parents to meet the needs of their own children and teach them what they need to know in these early years. It makes me sad to hear about some of the families these kids come home to, and think it would be really a worthwhile investment of tax dollars to make *voluntary,* helpful folks available to assist parents be the best they can be, connect them with needed services and screenings and so forth. I find the "system" very confusing and it would be nice to have a coordinator for families like mine once children are no longer eligible for First Steps.

Off to shop for crystal now! :)

LOL... siiigh. Um... came across this RELEVANT link and thought I'd share:

http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article/4304

Hi, Mrs. C!

Ah, well, here we must disagree, though I hear your argument equating child care and preschool. I do believe it's difficult to put a price on something like preschool, but economists do that sort of thing all the time when it comes time to allocate money--whether in the private or public sectors. It's a bit distasteful, but not really avoidable when you have to make budget decisions.

The federal government even has a price attached to a human life, which it uses is cost-benefit analyses. That price actually went down a few years ago--deflation in the value of human life! 

I'm familiar with the study of Head Start, which others have challenged, but most would argue that Head Start could be improved. But other programs, such as the program in Illinois, have shown real success. James Heckman, a Nobel-Prize-winning economist who is no fuzzy liberal, has produced the most convincing research on the return on investment in good early childhood programs.

Regarding your idea "to make *voluntary,* helpful folks available to assist parents be the best they can be, connect them with needed services and screenings and so forth," that sounds a lot like the Harlem Children's Zone.

Preparation is definitely the key to success in school for all students. There are times when we don't understand what the school system is doing and when parents get involved there are always going to be better things ahead for the kids and better understanding for the parents. casino online gratis