In the last 10 years two state programs that provide services to children and families have grown rapidly: 4-year-old Kindergarten (4K) and the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program. 4K enrollment has nearly tripled, with 93% of school districts now serving over 48,000 children; while Wisconsin Shares enrollment has grown over 50% to over 45,000 children. Recently, WI Shares has included a quality improvement system, YoungStar, to improve the quality of child care. Children receiving a subsidy are only a portion of 250,000 children served in regulated child care settings. These two early care and education programs serve by far the most of any programs. How do the systems compare?

Clearly 4K is a more stable, reliable system with a clear purpose and reliable program, focusing on all four year olds’ early education. Child care is a much less reliable system, with fluctuating funding and with a two-generation approach: helping low-income families pay for child care with efforts to improve the quality of early learning. The YoungStar quality rating and improvement program is striving toward a high quality early learning program with unstable, unreliable revenue.

Dave Edie