Question:
What are the characteristics of children in early childhood programs?

Response:

Center-based early childhood care and education programs include day care centers, Head Start programs, preschool, nursery school, prekindergarten, and other early childhood programs. The percentage of preprimary children ages 3�who attended center-based programs increased from 53 percent in 1991 to 60 percent in 1999, before decreasing to 57 percent in 2005.

Some groups of young children had higher rates of participation in center-based programs than others during this period. For example, in each of the years observed, a greater percentage of nonpoor children ages 3�participated in center-based programs than did poor children. The difference in rates of participation between children from poor and nonpoor families was 13 percentage points in 2005 (47 vs. 60 percent).

In addition, for all years observed, a greater percentage of Black and White children than Hispanic children participated in center-based programs. In 2005, some 66 percent of Black children and 59 percent of White children participated in such programs, compared with 43 percent of Hispanic children. White and Hispanic nonpoor children were more likely than their poor peers to participate in center-based programs in 2005, while no measurable difference was found between poor and nonpoor Black children.

For all years observed, a greater percentage of children whose mothers had a bachelor抯 or higher degree participated in center-based programs than did children whose mothers had some college, a high school diploma, or less than a high school diploma.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007�4), Indicator 2.

Percentage of prekindergarten children ages 3�who were enrolled in center-based early childhood care and education programs, by child and family characteristics: Selected years, 1991�05
Characteristic	1991	1993	1995	1996	1999	2001	2005
Total	53	53	55	55	60	56	57
Poverty status1
Poor	44	43	45	44	51	47	47
Nonpoor	56	56	59	59	62	59	60
Race/ethnicity2
White	54	54	57	57	60	59	59
Black	58	57	60	65	73	64	66
Hispanic	39	43	37	39	44	40	43
Mother's education
Less than high school	32	33	35	37	40	38	35
High school diploma or equivalent	46	43	48	49	52	47	49
Some college, including vocational/technical	60	60	57	58	63	62	56
Bachelor's degree or higher	72	73	75	73	74	70	73

¹ Poor is defined to include families below the poverty threshold; nonpoor is defined to include those families whose incomes are at or above the poverty threshold. See supplemental note 1 for more information on poverty.

² Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Included in the total, but not shown separately, are children from other racial/ethnic groups.

NOTE: Estimates are based on children who have not yet entered kindergarten. Center-based programs include day care centers, Head Start programs, preschool, nursery school, prekindergarten, and other early childhood programs. Children without mothers in the home are not included in estimates for mother抯 education.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007�4), Table 2-1.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2008, Condition of Education 2008: Early Education and Child Care Arrangements of Young Children
  
• 2008, Digest of Education Statistics 2007, Table 41. Enrollment of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in preprimary programs, by level of program, control of program, and attendance status: Selected years, 1965 through 2006
  
• 2008, Digest of Education Statistics 2007, Table 42. Number of children under 6 yrs old and not yet enrolled in kindergarten, percentage in center-based programs, avg weekly hrs in nonparental care, and % in various types of primary care arrangements, by selected child and family characteristics: 2005
  
• 2008, Digest of Education Statistics 2007, Table 43. Child care arrangements of 3- to 5-year-old children who are not yet in kindergarten, by age and race/ethnicity: Various years, 1991 through 2005
  
• 2008, Digest of Education Statistics 2007, Table 45. Children of prekindergarten through second-grade age, by enrollment status, selected maternal characteristics, and household income: 1995, 2001, and 2005
  
• 2001, Fast Response Survey System. Percent of all public elementary school prekindergarten children who were limited English proficient, percent who were low income, and percent with Individualized Education Programs, by selected school characteristics: 2000�
  
• 2001, Fast Response Survey System. Percent of public elementary schools with general education prekindergarten classes only, with special education prekindergarten classes only, with both types of classes, and with no prekindergarten classes: 2000�
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2006, Initial Results From the 2005 NHES Early Childhood Program Participation Survey
  
• 2005, Regional Differences in Kindergartners� Early Education Experiences
  
• 2004, Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)
  
• 2003, Prekindergarten in U.S. Public Schools: 2000-2001