PRESS ROOM

NHSA: STATE BLOCK GRANTS LEFT OUT OF NEW HOUSE BILL, NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE ON DETAILS

WASHINGTON, D.C.///May 5, 2005///With House Republicans introducing a draft bill for Head Start reauthorization, National Head Start Association (NHSA) President and CEO Sarah Greene issued the following statement today:

“We are encouraged to see that the initial outline of the House bill does not include the controversial state block granting provisions that generated such a sustained national uproar when the House voted on Head Start in 2003. While we reserve the right to decide what we think about the bill until we actually see the specific legislative language, it is encouraging that there has been apparent progress away from some of the provisions that created so much controversy in the last House bill.

The National Head Start Association looks forward to working with the House and Senate as Congress moves to reauthorize Head Start. The introduction of the House bill today is the first step in this process. NHSA has been working with both Republicans and Democrats in the House to help craft a reauthorization bill that benefits the children and families we serve, the communities in which we are located, and the professional staff we employ. This reauthorization is an opportunity to maintain and enhance the founding principles that have led to the program’s success, and to ensure that Head Start quality services and standards continue to raise the bar for our most at risk children and families.

While we have not seen the details of the bill being introduced today, we have assurances from House Republicans and Democrats that the issue of turning over Head Start to the states – in any form or number – is not part of the measure. We also recognize that the bill introduced today is a ’work in progress’ that will be modified and refined in the coming days and weeks. NHSA will approach the Subcommittee and full Committee mark ups with caution and an eye to keeping any new and destructive provisions from surfacing. For example, it will be of critical importance to us that the bill’s new educational coordination standards do not in any way vitiate the comprehensive standards – including medical and nutritional requirements – that are essential ingredients to the success of Head Start. We support greater coordination, assuming that doing so requires the same effort of all parties and does not dilute Head Start’s high standards.

NHSA supports - and always has backed - serious-minded efforts to make sure that every Head Start dollar is expended as intended by Congress. We agree that programs that exhibit a chronic failure to meet the high standards set out for Head Start grantees should be terminated. This does not mean that we would favor throwing the vast majority of strongly performing Head Start programs into chaos under any new ‘recompetition for the sake of recompetition’ requirement. We can all agree on how to zero in on the handful of programs that truly do require special attention and, when necessary, either termination or an end to their priority-grantee status. Recompetition of good programs makes no sense whatsoever and will simply serve to undermine the quality of programs that will be distracted needlessly from their core mission.

At the same time, we must say that we are disappointed to see that the introduction of the bill has been clouded by unfortunate rhetoric suggesting that there are widespread problems with Head Start programs. In fact, 96 percent of Head Start executive director compensation packages were found by the Department of Health and Human Services to fall under the recently imposed cap on salaries and benefits. It also is worth noting that the 21 “problem” Head Start programs focused on by the House Committee – an average of fewer than 10 per year for the period examined by the House -- account for well under 1 percent of all 2,729 Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the United States. (See http://www.saveheadstart.org/SalaryCapRelease040405.html for more details.)

NHSA will review the details of the bill introduced today and share our comments and those of the entire Head Start community with Members of Congress and their staffs. We are hopeful that this reauthorization will be a constructive effort that makes quality improvements within the existing federal to local structure of the Head Start program. It is this structure that has fostered the success of Head Start for our children, our families and for the local communities we serve.”

ABOUT NHSA
The National Head Start Association is a private not-for-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families. It represents more than 900,000 children, 190,000 staff and 2,700 Head Start programs in the United States. The Association provides support for the entire Head Start community by advocating for policies that strengthen service s to Head Start children and their families; by providing extensive training and professional development to Head Start staff; and by developing and disseminating research, information and resources that enrich Head Start program delivery. Tell your success story as a Head Start graduate or volunteer parent at http://www.IGotAHeadStart.org.

CONTACT: Ailis Aaron, for NHSA, (703) 276-3265 or aaaron@hastingsgroup.com.