全球智库信息集成服务系统

This report provides a first-time analysis of the nation's current spending on pre-kindergartners and kindergartners by examining 2008 federal expenditures from more than 100 federal programs on children ages 3 through 5. Findings show that six programs accounted for approximately two-thirds of all federal expenditures on this age group in 2008: Head Start, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and three tax programs (the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, and the dependent exemption). Programs that specifically focus on the care and education of children ages 3 through 5 represent 23 percent of total federal expenditures.