Georgia’s state-funded universal pre-K program has been proven to significantly affect language, literacy and math skills in the pre-K students enrolled. The program, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary as the first state funded early childhood education program in the country, reaches 58 percent of 4-year-olds in the state. Including federal Head Start and special education preschool brings the share of children served to nearly 89 percent, and about 3,464 children under the age of three are served by Early Head Start. Gov. Nathan Deal has stated that the next frontier in his state’s early childhood education program is to place greater focus on preparing children from birth to age three. The average annual cost of center-based infant care in the state is $7,228.