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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 418 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 418

 Designating the week beginning April 2, 2006, as ``Week of the Young 
                                Child''.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 31, 2006

   Mr. Salazar (for himself, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Dodd, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
Kerry, Mr. Burr, Mr. Levin, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Conrad, and Mrs. Murray) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Designating the week beginning April 2, 2006, as ``Week of the Young 
                                Child''.

Whereas there are 20,000,000 children under the age of 5 in the United States;
Whereas numerous studies, including the Abecedarian Study, the Study of the 
        Chicago Child-Parent Center, and the High/Scope Perry Preschool Study, 
        indicate that low-income children who have enrolled in quality, 
        comprehensive early childhood education programs--

    (1) improve their cognitive, language, physical, social, and emotional 
development; and

    (2) are less likely to--

                    (A) be placed in special education;
                    (B) drop out of school; or
                    (C) engage in juvenile delinquency;

Whereas the enrollment rates of children under the age of 5 in early childhood 
        education programs have steadily increased since 1965 with--

    (1) the creation of the Head Start program carried out under the Head 
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.);

    (2) the establishment of the Early Head Start program carried out under 
the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.); and

    (3) the enactment of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.);

Whereas many children eligible for, and in need of, quality early childhood 
        education services are not served due to inadequate funding;
Whereas over 4,000,000 children under the age of 5 live in poverty;
Whereas only about \1/2 \of all preschoolers who are eligible to participate in 
        Head Start programs have the opportunity to do so, and even fewer 
        eligible babies and toddlers receive the opportunity to participate in 
        Early Head Start;
Whereas only about 1 out of every 7 eligible children receives an amount of 
        child care assistance sufficient to--

    (1) enable the parents of the child to continue working; and

    (2) provide the child with safe and nurturing early childhood care and 
education;

Whereas, although State and local governments have responded to the numerous 
        benefits of early childhood education by making significant investments 
        in programs and classrooms, there remains--

    (1) a large unmet need for those services; and

    (2) a need to improve the quality of those programs; and

Whereas, according to numerous studies on the impact of investments in high-
        quality early childhood education, the programs yield to the public a 
        return of 4 dollars to 13 dollars for each dollar invested: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates the week beginning April 2, 2006, as ``Week 
        of the Young Child'';
            (2) encourages the citizens of the United States to 
        celebrate--
                    (A) young children; and
                    (B) the citizens who provide care and early 
                childhood education to the young children of the United 
                States; and
            (3) urges the citizens of the United States to recognize 
        the importance of--
                    (A) quality, comprehensive early childhood 
                education programs; and
                    (B) the value of those services for preparing 
                children to--
                            (i) appreciate future educational 
                        experiences; and
                            (ii) enjoy lifelong success.
                                 <all>
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