“The first of these cornerstones I would describe more fully as ‘resources available to children in their most formative years…’ One of the most consequential examples is early childhood education. Research shows that children from lower-income households who get good-quality pre-Kindergarten education are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college as well as hold a job and have higher earnings, and they are less likely to be incarcerated or receive public assistance…

“[A]ccess to quality early childhood education has improved since the 1990s, but it remains limited — 41 percent of children were enrolled in state or federally supported programs in 2013.”

Janet L. Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, speaking at the Conference on Economic Opportunity and Inequality, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, October 17, 2014