Minnesota's School Readiness program subsidizes preschool for children not served by Head Start, and funding for this program is modest compared with that in some states.
Many school districts have large balances of unspent funds in their ECFE programs.
The Department of Children, Families, and Learning assists school districts with their ECFE and School Readiness programs, but its fiscal and on-site monitoring of local programs is minimal. Studies of early childhood programs nationally have shown mixed results, and Minnesota studies have not provided definitive evidence of program-related impacts. The Legislature should consider increasing the percentage of state Head Start funds allocated on the basis of unmet need and increasing Head Start grantees' flexibility to determine which families they serve. The Legislature should consider options to discourage school districts from having large ECFE reserve balances, and it should establish a School Readiness reserve fund. The Department of Children, Families, and Learning should increase financial monitoring and on-site review of local ECFE and School Readiness programs.