ED419621 PS026550
Title: Investing in Our Children: What We Know and Don't Know about
the Costs and Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions.
Author(s): Karoly, Lynn A.; Greenwood, Peter W.; Everingham, Susan
S.; Hoube, Jill; Kilburn, M. Rebecca; Rydell, C. Peter; Sanders, Matthew;
Chiesa, James
Author Affiliation: Rand Corp., Santa Monica, CA.(CIQ74890)
Pages: 180
Publication Date: 1998
Sponsoring Agency: California Wellness Foundation. (BBB35025)
ISBN: 0-8330-2530-9
Available from: EDRS Price MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from
EDRS.
Availability: RAND, 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica,
CA 90407-2138; phone: 310-451-7002; fax: 310-451-6915; World Wide
Web: http://www.rand.org ($15).
Language: English
Document Type: Book (010); Information Analysis (070); Reports--Research
(143)
Geographic Source: U.S.; California
Journal Announcement: RIEOCT1998
This study
quantified the benefits to children and parents participating in
nine early intervention programs and conducted a cost-benefit analysis
of the Perry Preschool and the Elmira Prenatal/Early Infancy Project
(PEIP). The findings indicated that early intervention programs
led to the following advantages for program participants relative
to those in the control groups: (1) gains in child emotional or
cognitive development or improved parent-child relationships; (2)
improvements in educational process and child outcomes; (3) increased
economic self-sufficiency, initially for parents and later for children;
(4) reduced criminal activity; and (5) improvements in health-related
indicators. Savings to government programs were much higher than
the costs for the Perry Preschool; this was also true for the higher-risk
families of the PEIP. For lower-risk participants of the PEIP, however,
government savings were not enough to offset program costs. (Two
appendices detail the benefit cost analysis. Contains 159 references.)
(KB)
Descriptors: Child Development; Child Health; *Cost Effectiveness;
*Early Intervention; *Economic Factors; Educational Attainment;
Outcomes of Education; *Preschool Education; Program Effectiveness;
Research Needs; Well Being; *Young Children
Identifiers: Perry Preschool Project
