I'm still going to argue that those gains that children make, then lose, is because of our public schools, NOT because they didn't make them in the first place.

I was a family childcare provider for 14 years, and have been a HS Home Visitor for 6 months. I am appalled at the difference between the children I cared for then and the children I serve now. They are so behind, for the most part, it's sad. As frustrated as I sometimes got with daycare families that didn't seem to really care what was going on with their children during the day (how or what they learned), at least I had them 9 hours a day and they learned! The kiddos I serve now, I see 1 1/2 hours a week. I see progress; but 1 1/2 hours a week is a drop in the bucket.

We have to document every single visit to every single child, and track their development. We have to do quarterly reports to show their gains. I'm telling you, as frustrating as it is, the gains are there. Without HS, these kids would be way behind when they get to school.

As far as one classroom getting grant money and therefore being able to offer better materials or equipment for those kids, I wish it weren't the case. But, honestly, that's what the money is allotted for. We used to be able to get grants that benefited ALL the children in our group; those grants are gone. Years ago, having low-income children in your group did give you extra "points" in your grant application, but it wasn't as in-your-face as this program seems to be.

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