DeKALB – Weeks before Gov. Pat Quinn is set to announce his state budget plan, a children’s advocacy group is calling for a greater investment in early childhood education and child care services.

Voices for Illinois Children released its 2013 Illinois Kids Count report Thursday, chronicling the decline in attendance at state-supported preschools and an increased financial burden to families seeking child care because of cuts in state funding.

The report showed that about 20,000 fewer children are attending state-supported preschool programs statewide while eligibility requirements for the Child Care Assistance Program have become more restrictive, moving the qualifying family income threshold from 200 percent of the poverty line to 185 percent. That’s the difference between $47,110 or $43,500 for a family of four.