'Inadequate' State Funding Seen Impeding School Readiness

By Deborah L. Cohen

A "pattern of inadequate investment'' by states in child care and early-childhood-development services is preventing children from entering school ready to learn and poor families from working and becoming self-sufficient, a report issued last week by the Children's Defense Fund contends.

In a 50-state study, the group found wide variations in spending on early-childhood care and education in fiscal year 1990, ranging from $0.24 per child in Idaho to $152.04 per child in Massachusetts.

But the study showed that half the states spent less than $25 per child, and one-third spent less than $17 per child. Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Virginia all spent less than $10 per child,...