State-Supported Prekindergarten in the SREB Region: Growing in Hard Times.

Noting that one of the leading indicators of progress toward the goal of all children being ready for the first grade is the number of at-risk children with access to high-quality prekindergarten programs, this report presents information on the efforts of states in the southern United States to achieve that goal. The report notes that during the 2002-2003 school year, state-supported prekindergarten programs in the south, excluding Florida, served more than 325,000 children 3 and 4 years old, with state prekindergarten programs and Head Start combined serving 100,000 more than the number of 4-year-olds living in poverty in the southern states. The use of poverty as a criterion for counting at-risk children is discussed. The report includes profiles of state prekindergarten programs in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Information presented for each program includes the year established, target population, 2002-2003 funding, program hours, number of children served, eligible providers, and administering agency. The report notes that Mississippi has no state prekindergarten program but has the largest percentage of eligible children served by Head Start of any state. The report concludes by noting that although the southern states are facing budgetary pressures as is the rest of the nation, none of the 15 states with programs has experienced a significant reduction in funding. (KB)