Based on their recent cost benefit analysis of the ABC/CARE Program, Professor Heckman and his team look at the differences in outcomes based on gender in their paper, Gender Differences in the Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program. As with most early childhood studies, they find that quality early childhood education benefits low income children, but find significant differences based on gender. Both boys and girls do best in high quality care, though girls show some improvement in lower quality care and boys are actually harmed by it. The economic realities of today’s families make it imperative to provide low-income families with quality child care. Failure to do so is a missed opportunity to improve lives, especially since quality programs pay for themselves in the short- and long-term.