This report examines whether educationally disadvantaged or at-risk preschool children have access to center-based early childhood programs similar to the access enjoyed by advantaged children, and whether the programs are of comparable quality. Eight risk factors that represent gross indications of educational disadvantage are examined, including low income, single parent household, primary language other than English, and a disabling condition. The first part of the report focuses on access to center-based programs. It looks at the association between each risk factor and enrollment. The second part of the report addresses the issue of the quality of programs in which children are enrolled, specifically the extent to which their average group sizes and ratio of children to staff met both state and professional standards. The report concludes that some at-risk children have better access to early childhood programs than other at-risk children, and that the risk factors associated with lower enrollment include low household income, being a child of a poorly educated mother or a mother who was a teenager when she first became pregnant, and living in a large household. With regard to access to programs of similar quality, the report notes that the quality of programs enrolling children from low income families did not differ from that of programs enrolling children from higher income families. Black children were less likely than white children to be enrolled in programs that met state standards, but more likely to be enrolled in programs that met professional standards. Three appendixes provide results of a methodological study comparing the reports from parents with those of their children's care providers. Contains 55 references. (HTH)