If preschool has such amazing pay-offs, why were only 10.5% of four-year-olds enrolled in Head Start in 2006? And perhaps more importantly, why is one in every three preschoolers not served by any public preschool program?

Enter the Improving Head Start Act of 2007. This bill has been passed in slightly different versions in both the House and Senate and is currently being reconciled in committee. This legislation reauthorizes the Head Start Act through the year 2012. As TheMiddleClass.org explains,

"Through federal grants to local agencies, schools and organizations, Head Start provides early education and child development services to more than 900,000 children from low-income families. The bill authorizes $450 million in new funding for 2008, expanding access to 10,000 more children and increasing eligibility to 130 percent of the federal poverty line. Provisions to enhance Head Start's efficiency and accountability include improved monitoring of program sites, new fiscal controls, and a requirement that local programs that fail to comply with Head Start standards must re-apply for their grants and compete to get them. The bill also strengthens the program's focus on preparing students for kindergarten and elementary school and increases degree requirements for Head Start teachers, providing new funds to increase teacher salaries and offer staff training opportunities."

Head Start is a win-win program. Not only do preschool programs impact children for life -- better social skills, more likely to go to high school, and less likely to go to jail -- but society benefits, too. According to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, even the police are all for the Head Start Act. "Law enforcement has one simple message for Congress: to achieve Head Start's maximum benefits in cutting crime, Congress must provide enough money so that every eligible child can get Head Start and have a better shot at graduating from high school," he said.

Head Start truly is a public investment. According to this study, for every dollar spent on Head Start the public sees a return of about seven dollars. The program doesn't only provide education, but medical screening, immunizations, and dental services, saving the government money on providing these services later down the road. Furthermore, preschool programs like Head Start allow parents to keep jobs -- they no longer have to choose between caring for their child and putting food on the table.

The bill isn't perfect. Although research suggests that the benefits of preschool are greatest for children in low-income families, children from all kinds of backgrounds would benefit from widely-available quality preschool. The bill also needs to assure that more qualified teachers are hired in Head Start programs, thereby increasing the already-present benefits. As we've written about before on the DMI blog, universal preschool programs has wide ranging benefits for all sectors of society.

Who knew you could learn so much by eating crayons?