Summary

During the 1980s, the number of poor infants and toddlers increased by 26 percent, with 20 percent of all children under age two living in poverty by 1990, a trend that poses serious challenges to federally-funded early childhood programs. Cities and rural areas have been disproportionately affected. More than 45 percent of all infants and toddlers in some cities and urban areas were living in poverty by 1990. Poor infants and toddlers were more likely to live with families that (1) spoke little English, (2) were headed by single parents, (3) had limited education, and (4) had unemployed parents. Federal early childhood program generally reached only a small percentage of these children. For example, the Head Start program now serves only about one percent of all poor infants and toddlers. In light of the proven benefits of such early childhood programs as the Women, Infants, and Children and the Childhood Immunization programs, federal and state governments may wish to reexamine their efforts to serve infants and toddlers. The reauthorization of Head Start provides an opportunity for including more infants and children in the program.

GAO found that: (1) the number of poor infants and toddlers increased 26 percent during the 1980s and the highest poverty rates occurred in cities and rural areas; (2) in 1990, 20 percent of infants and toddlers lived in poverty compared to 9 percent of prime-aged adults and 13 percent of the elderly; (3) the South and Southwest had the highest poverty rates for infants and toddlers in 1990; (4) at least 35 percent of all infants and toddlers were eligible for Child Care and Development Block Grant services; (5) minorities were over-represented among poor and near-poor infants and toddlers in 1990; (6) poor and near-poor infants and toddlers were more likely than nonpoor children to be immigrants and live in households with non-English speaking, single, or unemployed parents; (7) during the 1980s, the numbers of poor and near-poor infants and toddlers living in minority, immigrant, non-English speaking, unemployed, undereducated, and single-parent families increased significantly; (8) federal early childhood programs generally serve only a small percentage of disadvantaged infants and toddlers because of eligibility restrictions, prioritizing, budget constraints, the lack of adequate outreach, and logistical problems; and (9) the increase in the programs' target populations and their demonstrated benefits warrant consideration of their expansion.