NHSA: FUNDS FOR 35,000 HEAD START AT-RISK CHILDREN SLOTS WOULD VANISH UNDER 2% ACROSS-THE-BOARD FEDERAL SPENDING CUT
Hardest Hit: Migrant/Seasonal Workers, Indian/Alaskan Natives, Programs in CA, TX, NY, IL, OH, FL, MI, PA,MS and GA; 23 States Would Lose Equivalent of 500 Or More Slots.
WASHINGTON,
D.C.///October 27, 2005//Despite being one of the most successful programs in the federal government, Head Start, which gets America's poorest children ready to learn in kindergarten and beyond, would be decimated by funding cuts equal to 35,432 fewer classroom slots – including 500 or more in each of 23 states – under a proposed 2 percent reduction in federal discretionary spending, according to the National Head Start Association (NHSA).
The NHSA estimates are based on the plans unveiled on October 6th by U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R, IL) to cut fiscal year (FY) 2006 spending. Hastert failed to identify a percentage for the across-the-board cuts, but House staff members have suggested that those cuts would be at least 2 percent, which would mean a cut of $82 million to Head Start and Early Head Start. NHSA calculates that the effects of a 2 percent cut would result in the equivalent of closing enrollment to at least 35,000 currently served children. Although House leaders did not have the votes to push through a broad-based spending cut last week, they have vowed to press ahead with the plan.
NHSA is urging parents, educators and other concerned individuals to go to “Save Head Start” (http://www.SaveHeadStart.org) to let their members of Congress know that they oppose cutting the equivalent of more than 35,000 existing Head Start slots for America’s poorest children.
Among the hardest hit Head Start programs would be those serving America’s most at-risk children: migrant/seasonal worker families (1,297 slots); and American Indian/Alaskan Natives (928). On a state-by-state basis, the 10 biggest losses would be seen in: California (3,870); Texas (2,651); New York (1,928); Illinois (1,552); Ohio (1,487); Florida (1,391); Michigan (1,374); Pennsylvania (1,207); Mississippi (1,046); and Georgia (917). The other 13 states losing the equivalent of 500 or more Head Start slots would be Louisiana (860), North Carolina (747), Missouri (683), Tennessee (643), Alabama (640), Kentucky (629), New Jersey (592), Indiana (557), Virginia (539), Wisconsin (529), Oklahoma (527), Arizona (517) and Massachusetts (504). Another big loser would be Puerto Rico, with the equivalent of 1,467 slots defunded.
National Head Start Association Board Chairman Ron Herndon, who also is director of the Albina Head Start program (Portland, OR), said: “These cuts would be horrific, quite literally balancing the budget on the backs of the poorest and most at-risk kids in this nation. However, the reality is that chronically inadequate funding for Head Start already is forcing programs to alter and, in some cases, kill services and teacher positions that otherwise would make a real difference in the lives of Head Start children. Ironically, the funds continue to be slashed at the very point where demands are being placed on Head Start programs to hire more teachers with degrees.”
Ed Condon, executive director, California Head Start Association, said: “California Head Start programs already are reducing services to children and families as a result of past flat funding years. Social workers will see increased caseloads, teacher’s will have limited resources and our facilities will decline with additional cut backs. The most tragic outcome is that, in a time of increased educational standards and understanding of the value of early education, thousands fewer children most at risk will get the services they need.”
Jane Nutter, director, Rural Opportunities, Inc., a Head Start grantee in Harrisburg, PA., said: "Throughout our region, we see more and more children and families in need of our services. But because of the unwillingness of our congressional leadership to adequately fund these programs, our most vulnerable populations continue to go unserved."
NHSA estimates that there already has been a reduction of 6,494 slots in Head Start and Early Head Start from fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2005. A NHSA survey conducted in the summer of 2005 found that 89 percent of Head Start and Early Head Start programs had to make budget cuts during the past year. As programs entered the current school year, 30 percent reported laying off teachers, 70 percent had furloughed non-teacher staff members, 30 percent reduced or eliminatedhealth insurance coverage, 65 percent cut transportation services, 47 percent reduced training, 12 percent trimmed services for children with disabilities, and 39 percent reported cutting operating hours per day and//or the length of the year.
In this already dire climate, the prospect of a 2 percent cut for Head Start would create a “vicious Catch-22 situation that would gut Head Start,” according to Herndon. He explained that programs would not be permitted by federal overseers to actually make any major reductions in Head Start slots and, instead, would have to slash already pared-down spending on teachers, other support staff, classroom hours, transportation and family services.
Herndon added: “There wasn’t any fat to begin with and this year we were forced to cut away much of the actual muscle and sinew that holds Head Start programs together. The prospect of coming up with more cuts to offset the equivalent of 35,000 Head Start slots could very well be the death knell for this program. Unfortunately, I think that some people in Congress don’t want to be caught pulling the trigger on Head Start, but they have no problem with locking us in a room and hoping that no one notices as we starve to death.”
A chart available at http://www.saveheadstart.org shows the expected impact of the potential 2 percent cut in funding and enrollment in Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Outer Pacific areas. The estimated cuts in the American Indian/Alaskan Native and the migrant/seasonal programs were calculated separately and were not included in the state-specific chart.
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, 200,000 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 services 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.
CONTACT: Ailis Aaron, (703) 276-3265 or aaaron@hastingsgroup.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A streaming audio recording of a related news event will be available on the Web as of 6 p.m. ET on October 27, 2005 at http://www.SaveHeadStart.org. |
