Illinois families received some encouraging news today: Illinois children fare better now than 20 years ago.
According to a new report from the advocacy organization Voices for Illinois Children, 12 times as many children attend state-supported preschool today and 70 percent more children are covered by public health insurance than 20 years earlier. Fewer kids are dependent on welfare and in foster care as well.
Illinois' focus on early education is important. Among the findings of the Perry Preschool study, one of the nation's most-cited analyses of the benefits of early childhood education, adults at age 40 who attended preschool netted higher earnings, were more likely to hold a job, had committed fewer crimes, and were more likely to have graduated from high school than those who skipped preschool. It's also fiscally sensible; spending $1 now on preschool can save the state $17 down the line on the costs for special education, incarceration, and an under-educated workforce.
There's still lots of work to be done, however. The study singled out the state's treatment of the estimated 300,000 Illinois children with mental health conditions as one area in need of improvement. School funding equity is also a major concern. According to A+ Illinois, "Illinois consistently receives one of the worst grades in school funding equity from Education Week. In 2006 they earned a D+; their ranking of C+ last year followed two years of receiving F grades."
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