Implementing New York's Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program: An Exploratory Study of Systemic Impacts

This exploratory study examined the impacts of New York's Universal Pre-kindergarten (UPK) program as perceived by directors at child care centers and preschools not receiving state funds. Although only partially implemented, UPK's mixed-delivery system grants monies to a substantial number of qualifying community-based early care and education centers, resulting in a funding imbalance between participating and nonparticipating centers. Phone interviews were conducted with the directors of non-UPK programs across New York State (N = 46). Quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest perceived decreases in 4-year-old and total enrollment and increased teacher recruitment difficulty and competition for teachers since UPK was introduced. Larger centers and those offering full-day programming more often reported changes in teacher recruitment and retention than smaller centers and those offering part-day programming only. Implications for state pre-K policy are discussed.