The Long-term Effects of an Early Childhood Intervention
on Educational Achievement and Juvenile Arrest

A Forum — June 18, 2001

Arthur J. Reynolds, professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and principal investigator, presented the findings of a recently published, 15-year longitudinal study of the advantages of early childhood intervention by the Chicago School District’s Child-Parent Center (CPC) program. CPC is a center-based, pre-school and early intervention program that offers comprehensive family-support services as well as educational-support services. The program has served over 100,000 families in high-poverty neighborhoods in the Chicago area since 1967. It is one of the earliest educational programs created after the introduction of Title I in 1965. The study was initiated in 1985 with 1,539 pre-school and kindergartners in 23 Chicago sites, and was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute for the Education of At-Risk Students in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U. S. Department of Education.

The study followed the progress of CPC students, through their school-age years, monitoring them through means such as school records, interviews and surveys. The majority of students, 93 percent, in the Title I program were African American. Eighty-four percent live below the poverty line, 70 percent come from single-parent homes, 58 percent of their parents were high school graduates, and 92 percent attended Chicago public schools for six or more years. The youth in the study were scheduled to graduate in 1998/1999.

The study examined the effects of CPC programs on areas such as the child welfare system, school remedial services, juvenile and adult court systems, and lifetime earnings capacity of each participant. The study revealed that students who attended the CPC had greater levels of school readiness at ages five and six; higher school achievement test scores through age 15; less need for school remedial services by age 18, lower rates of child maltreatment by age 17; lower rates of juvenile arrest by age 18; and higher rates of high school completion by age 20. Among other things, the study showed a significant decline in juvenile crime and dropout rates. The study revealed that the greatest beneficiaries of the CPC program were low-income, urban, African American boys.

The program was modeled after another federal pre-school program called Head Start. However, unlike Head Start that is run through social service agencies, CPCs are run by school districts and provide a greater degree of focus on literacy development and parent-involvement. Students enter the program at age three and may continue until age nine. CPC programs are child-focused and oriented towards academics, build literacy skills and listening skills, employ letter boards to develop letter recognition skills, use language games in diverse ways to increase literacy, use experiential learning, and require considerable parent involvement. The teacher to student ratio at the preschool level is 8.5 students to one teacher, plus a teacher’s aide. At the kindergarten level, the ratio is 12 students to one teacher, plus an aide. CPCs also offer health services, nutritional support, meals, and a speech therapist.

"There are longer term savings and benefits to society," says Reynolds, as a result of participation in the CPC program. The CPC pre-school program helps children increase their academic skills, raises their social competency behavior, and reduces their enrollment in remedial classes. Students who participated for four to six years with the CPC program had lower rates of grade retention than those who participated for less time. By 18 years of age, students who had completed the program had a 35 percent lower rate of special education placement. Students who go through the program are more likely to go to better schools and are less likely to change schools frequently. When compared to similar children who attended full-day kindergarten programs instead of the CPC program, CPC children demonstrated:

• 29 percent higher high-school completion rate, including a 47 percent higher rate of school completion for boys;
• 40 percent reduction in grade retention;
• 33 percent reduction in the rate of juvenile arrest; and
• 41 percent reduction in the rate of violent arrests.

The annual cost for the preschool CPC program is $6,700 per student, $2,500 for the school-aged program. According to Reynolds, for every dollar invested in a CPC program, the return to society is $7.10. The benefits to youth and society exceed costs of the program.

Parents and families were also positively impacted by involvement in the program. The CPC makes parent involvement a requirement for preschool and kindergarten. During the primary grades, parent participation is expected, but no longer required. Up to 80 percent of parents participate in some capacity. The facility has a staffed "parent room" with materials and supplies to educate parents. Parents become involved in support groups and take courses such as child-rearing, personal development and home economics. They get involved with field trips and some volunteer in classrooms. There are organized activities to involve parents in their children’s preschool and kindergarten education. "Most child-parent programs do not have this important resource to educate parents," said Reynolds. The study revealed that by the time a student reached age 12, there was greater involvement by parents and greater satisfaction with their children’s education. This leads to parent’s higher expectations for their children’s educational attainment

According to Reynolds, the study supports the need for the nation to fund early intervention programs like the CPC. Results from this study make it clear that at-risk children educated in a CPC can give more back to society and are less likely to be a burden. "Early childhood intervention through CPCs leads to developed abilities that lead to social competence behaviors. Early childhood intervention also promotes family support behavior that leads youth to develop social competence behaviors," concluded Reynolds.

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