Pa. group: Spend more on pre-K

Despite increased state spending, Pennsylvania needs to invest even more in pre-kindergarten and other "high quality" early-learning programs, according to an annual report from a child-advocacy group.

The 2013 School Readiness report said that only 15.9 percent of 3- and 4-year olds -- 47,158 children -- have access to publicy funded pre-k programs such as Head Start and Pre-K Counts, a decline from 16.7 percent in 2012 and 17.6 in 2011.

Fewer than 5 percent of children under 4 benefit from high-quality care, which has been shown to boost cognitive development and improve literacy and social skills, said the report, published by the nonprofit Pennsylvania Parternhips for Children.

The group also found that the number of child-care subsidy slots available to infants, toddlers and pre-school age children, has dropped by nearly 3,000 in the past year, falling to 38,936 from 41,844. More than 6,200 children are on the waiting lists for child care subsidy, with an average wait of nearly 20 weeks.

This year's state budget increases funding for Head Start Supplementary Assistance by $1.9 million, to $39.2 million; for Pre-K Counts, $4.5 million, to $87.3 million, and child-care services, $14.3 million, to $155.7 million.

Funding for the previous two years had been flat.

Despite the increase, Michael Race, a spokesman for PPC, said more is needed.

"If you talk about budgets and cost effectiveness and a solid return on investments, this is one area where research shows us you get myriad return on investments," he said.

Children who attended a high quality preschool -- one that meets national criteria that include small classes and credentialed teachers -- are more likely to graduate from high schoool, have higher lifetime earnings, stay out of prison and rely less on social services, he said.

"It doesn't just pay off for the kid," he said, "it pays off for all of us."

kboccella@phillynews.com

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@kathyboccella