§ 9401. — Purposes.
[Laws in effect as of January 7, 2003]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 7, 2003 and December 19, 2003]
[CITE: 20USC9401]
TITLE 20--EDUCATION
CHAPTER 75--EARLY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Sec. 9401. Purposes
The purposes of this chapter are--
(1) to increase the availability of voluntary programs,
services, and activities that support early childhood development,
increase parent effectiveness, and promote the learning readiness of
young children so that young children enter school ready to learn;
(2) to support parents, child care providers, and caregivers who
want to incorporate early learning activities into the daily lives
of young children;
(3) to remove barriers to the provision of an accessible system
of early childhood learning programs in communities throughout the
United States;
(4) to increase the availability and affordability of
professional development activities and compensation for caregivers
and child care providers; and
(5) to facilitate the development of community-based systems of
collaborative service delivery models characterized by resource
sharing, linkages between appropriate supports, and local planning
for services.
(Pub. L. 106-554, Sec. 1(a)(1) [title VIII, Sec. 802], Dec. 21, 2000,
114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-80.)
Short Title; Findings
Pub. L. 106-554, Sec. 1(a)(1) [title VIII, Sec. 801], Dec. 21, 2000,
114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-79, provided that:
``(a) Short Title.--This title [enacting this chapter] may be cited
as the `Early Learning Opportunities Act'.
``(b) Findings.--Congress finds that--
``(1) medical research demonstrates that adequate stimulation of
a young child's brain between birth and age 5 is critical to the
physical development of the young child's brain;
``(2) parents are the most significant and effective teachers of
their children, and they alone are responsible for choosing the best
early learning opportunities for their child;
``(3) parent education and parent involvement are critical to
the success of any early learning program or activity;
``(4) the more intensively parents are involved in their child's
early learning, the greater the cognitive and noncognitive benefits
to their children;
``(5) many parents have difficulty finding the information and
support the parents seek to help their children grow to their full
potential;
``(6) each day approximately 13,000,000 young children,
including 6,000,000 infants or toddlers, spend some or all of their
day being cared for by someone other than their parents;
``(7) quality early learning programs, including those designed
to promote effective parenting, can increase the literacy rate, the
secondary school graduation rate, the employment rate, and the
college enrollment rate for children who have participated in
voluntary early learning programs and activities;
``(8) early childhood interventions can yield substantial
advantages to participants in terms of emotional and cognitive
development, education, economic well-being, and health, with the
latter two advantages applying to the children's families as well;
``(9) participation in quality early learning programs,
including those designed to promote effective parenting, can
decrease the future incidence of teenage pregnancy, welfare
dependency, at-risk behaviors, and juvenile delinquency for
children;
``(10) several cost-benefit analysis studies indicate that for
each $1 invested in quality early learning programs, the Federal
Government can save over $5 by reducing the number of children and
families who participate in Federal Government programs like special
education and welfare;
``(11) for children placed in the care of others during the
workday, the low salaries paid to the child care staff, the lack of
career progression for the staff, and the lack of child development
specialists involved in early learning and child care programs, make
it difficult to attract and retain the quality of staff necessary
for a positive early learning experience;
``(12) Federal Government support for early learning has
primarily focused on out-of-home care programs like those
established under the Head Start Act [42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.], the
Child Care and Development Block Grant [Act] of 1990 [42 U.S.C. 9858
et seq.], and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act [20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.], and these programs--
``(A) serve far fewer than half of all eligible children;
``(B) are not primarily designed to provide support for
parents who care for their young children in the home; and
``(C) lack a means of coordinating early learning
opportunities in each community; and
``(13) by helping communities increase, expand, and better
coordinate early learning opportunities for children and their
families, the productivity and creativity of future generations will
be improved, and the Nation will be prepared for continued
leadership in the 21st century.''
