Summary: During the 1980s, the number of poor infants and toddlers increased by 26 percent, with 20 percent of all children under age two living in poverty by 1990, a trend that poses serious challenges to federally-funded early childhood programs. Cities and rural areas have been disproportionately affected. More than 45 percent of all infants and toddlers in some cities and urban areas were living in poverty by 1990. Poor infants and toddlers were more likely to live with families that (1) spoke little English, (2) were headed by single parents, (3) had limited education, and (4) had unemployed parents. Federal early childhood program generally reached only a small percentage of these children. For example, the Head Start program now serves only about one percent of all poor infants and toddlers. In light of the proven benefits of such early childhood programs as the Women, Infants, and Children and the Childhood Immunization programs, federal and state governments may wish to reexamine their efforts to serve infants and toddlers. The reauthorization of Head Start provides an opportunity for including more infants and children in the program.
