NHSA: MORE THAN 30,000 HEAD START SLOTS WOULD HAVE TO BE CUT UNDER BUSH FISCAL YEAR 2008 BUDGET
Biggest Cuts Projected for CA, TX, NY, IL, OH, FL, MI, PA, Puerto Rico and Migrant/Seasonal Head Start Programs; Programs Already Reeling Under 11 Percent Cut in Funding Support.
WASHINGTON,
D.C.///February 14, 2007//An estimated 30,599 slots for Head Start children would have to be cut out of programs nationwide if President Bush’s proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget is approved in the wake of a FY 2007 continuing resolution that provides an extra $100 million for Head Start, according to new projection by the National Head Start Association (NHSA), the national voice of Head Start programs.
In its new estimate of the more than 30,000 enrollment slots that would be wiped out under the FY 2008 Bush budget, the following states and programs would face cuts of over 1,000 children each: California (3321); Texas (2271); New York state (1657); Illinois (1337); (Ohio) 1283; Puerto Rico Head Start programs (1243); Florida (1199); Migrant/Seasonal Head Start programs (1196); Michigan (1183); and Pennsylvania (1089).
On February 7, 2007, NHSA warned that at least $750 million in new funding is needed in FY 2007 and FY 2008 to offset a crippling 11 percent effective cut in federal support that has resulted in more than half (56 percent) of Head Start programs surveyed across the United States being forced to cut early childhood health and education services for America’s most at-risk children and families.
NHSA President and CEO Sarah Greene said: “We believe that Head Start and Early Head Start programs should only cut enrollment as an absolute last-ditch resort. The Head Start Program Performance Standards ensure that Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide high quality services to children and families. Unfortunately, Head Start and Early Head Start programs are being forced to make difficult financial decisions because they are grappling with increasingly severe financial constraints over the past few years. In fact, these constraints, when combined with the Bush administration’s fiscal year 2008 budget proposal, would mean that programs will have experienced an 13 percent real cut in federal funding since fiscal year 2002.”
Greene added: “The harsh reality here is that Head Start programs cannot cut back on critical services because that would lower the quality of their programs because doing so would put them out of compliance with the Program Performance Standards. Consequently, many programs would be forced to slash the number of children served in order that the remaining children receive a high quality early childhood education.”
The February 7, 2007 NHSA survey was designed to gauge the impact on Head Start programs of a 1 percent cut in FY 2006 federal funding. The 2006 cut was imposed in the context of an estimated 11 percent real decline (inflation-adjusted) in federal funding from fiscal year 2002 through fiscal year 2007, which could grow to even higher 13 percent under President Bush’s proposed budget for FY 2008.
For the full state-by-state FY 2008 budget impact estimates, go to http://www.saveheadstart.org on the Web.
ABOUT NHSA
The National Head Start Association (http://www.nhsa.org) 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 1 million children, 200,000 staff and 2,600 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 Wolf, (703) 276-3265 or aaaron@hastingsgroup.com.
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