- Children who attended CAIPI centers in Panama showed significant improvements in language development that remained visible up to six years later.
- Access to quality care and early education helps children build the foundational skills they need to succeed in school.
- A new study shows what works and provides guidance for expanding high-quality early childhood services with greater impact.
Education remains one of the most powerful tools for expanding opportunities and promoting social mobility. But for children to arrive at school ready to learn, that preparation begins long before their first day in the classroom. It starts during the early years of life, through the care they receive, the interactions they experience, the language they are exposed to, and the opportunities they have for early stimulation.
These early experiences shape children's learning, educational trajectories, and future opportunities. That is why investing in early childhood is one of the most strategic decisions a country can make.
The question is: how can governments invest for greater impact? A new study conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in partnership with Panama's Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) provides concrete evidence to help answer that question. The research examines the effects of Early Childhood Comprehensive Care Centers (CAIPI, its acronym in Spanish) on child development and presents findings that reinforce the importance of expanding access to quality early childhood care services.
What the Evidence Reveals About the Impact of CAIPI
The study used a rigorous experimental design. Places in the program were randomly assigned among eligible applicant families, allowing researchers to compare children who gained access to the program with similar children who did not. Baseline data were collected in 2018, when participating children were between 1.5 and 3.5 years old, and a follow-up survey was conducted in 2024, when many of them had already entered primary school. Child development was assessed through language acquisition and socioemotional skills using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), a widely used measure of receptive vocabulary—that is, children's ability to understand spoken and written words—and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
The main finding is clear: children who attended a CAIPI achieved significant improvements in language development, particularly in vocabulary.
At first glance, the gains may appear modest, but they are far from insignificant. Language development is one of the strongest predictors of future learning. Children who enter school with stronger language skills tend to acquire reading more easily, better understand classroom instructions, and follow stronger educational trajectories throughout their school years.
One of the study's most important findings is that these effects remained evident up to six years after the intervention. This reinforces what decades of international evidence have consistently shown: learning is cumulative. When children develop foundational skills early in life, they are better equipped to continue learning over time.
As Panama's Minister of Social Development, Beatriz Carles de Arango, noted during the presentation of the findings, "When we invest in early childhood, we are not investing only in the present—we are investing in the future." Numerous studies show that investments in high-quality early childhood development programs generate some of the highest returns among social policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, reaching up to 13.7 percent for every dollar invested. By contrast, the cost of inaction is substantial. According to estimates published in The Lancet, insufficient investment in early childhood development costs the region approximately 1.6 percent of its GDP.
Expanding Access, Improving Care, Creating Better Opportunities
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, millions of children still lack access to quality formal early childhood care and education services. In many cases, families—especially mothers—bear most of the responsibility for caregiving, limiting their opportunities to participate in the labor market.
With support from the IDB, MIDES is implementing a strategy to expand coverage while improving the quality of these services. Through its center-based model, the country's 95 CAIPI centers currently serve approximately 2,600 children nationwide. Of these, 55 have been built, renovated, or equipped in recent years, alongside sustained efforts to strengthen service quality. Through its family- and community-based model, the Cuidarte and Juego Aprendo programs promote early childhood development through home visits and group sessions with parents in rural and hard-to-reach communities.
Studies like this make it possible to measure what works, understand why it works, and better inform public policy. They also show that when expanded access is combined with quality, the benefits can endure over time and translate into stronger learning outcomes and better development opportunities.
To learn more about the findings, download the publication Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Public Early Childhood Education in Panama.