Head StartTAKE ACTIONUse our online alert to urge Congress to invest in Head Start and child care View our Early Childhood Development Powerpoint presentation Since our founding, RESULTS has advocated for Head Start. Head Start was created in 1965 and is the longest-running national school-readiness program in the United States. The program provides federally funded grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide comprehensive child development services to disadvantaged preschool children and their families. These services include:
We support annual funding increases for Head Start, Early Head Start, and the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), so that all three programs are able to serve a greater number of eligible children. Head Start only reaches 40 percent of eligible preschoolers, and Early Head Start serves less than 3 percent of all eligible families with babies and toddlers. RESULTS will continue to advocate for funding increases for both programs so that more children and their families can be served.
- Susan Collier (with two of her daughters)
According to an October 2009 report from the Center on Law and Social Policy (CLASP):
The Importance of Funding Head Start and Early Head Start
In February 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R.1), a bill to revive the slumping economy. This bill includes $2.1 billion in temporary funding for Head Start ($1.1 billion of that is for Early Head Start). National Head Start Association (NHSA) estimated that $1 billion invested in Head Start and Early Head Start would add 25,292 jobs for Head Start and Early Head Start teachers and staff and increase Head Start and Early Head Start enrollment by 38,324 slots. RESULTS applauds these smart investments in the program, and urges the president and Congress to work together to ensure that children and families can access the high quality, comprehensive services offered by Head Start long after the temporary stimulus funding period. Head Start needs continued financial support so that children don't lose services when the stimulus money runs out. RESULTS and our allies call on Congress to include a $1 billion increase for Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and a $1 billion increase for Head Start in the FY 2011 Labor-HHS appropriations bill. See our Current Campaigns Summary for the latest on Congress' action on these important programs. You can take action by sending e-mails to Congress using our Head Start and child care funding action alert. Head Start Benefits TaxpayersHead Start Impact Study Final Report, January 2010, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, confirms a positive impact on children's preschool experience. The 35-page Executive Summary (PDF) is athttp://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/reports/impact_study/executive_summary_final.pdf. The National Head Start Association (NHSA) said in a press release, "This study demonstrates that Head Start programs are of good or better quality and finds favorable cognitive, socio-emotional, and health impacts for children who attended Head Start and positive impacts on parenting practices. Yet the study [also] indicates that many of the early gains made in Head Start prior to kindergarten might be lost at the end of first grade." NHSA notes that Head Start has a 45-year history of continuous improvement. A December 2009 report from the National Center for Education Statistics offers more proof that early care and education experiences are a critical part of future school success. Findings showed:
In response to congressional 1998 Head Start reauthorization legislation requiring the tracking of the progress of children and families served by Head Start, an ongoing study was performed in California of more than 600 San Bernardino Head Start graduates. According to the 2003 press release (pdf) relating to the study, research found that society estimated to save nearly $9 for every $1 invested in Head Start. Benefits included increased earnings, employment, and family stability, and decreased welfare dependency, crime costs, grade repetition, and special education services. In reference to Head Start's impact on reducing costs associated with crime, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids issued a report in August 2008 called School or the Streets showing that increasing graduation rates by 10 percentage points will prevent 3,000 murders and 175,000 aggravated assaults in America every year. Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said, "If kids get a strong start early in life, we can cut our dropout rate and improve our communities. To help more kids get that strong start, we need to fund early childhood education programs and ensure that every child that qualifies is able to enroll." RESULTS and our allies also support other investments in early childhood development programs, including the Early Learning Challenge Fund. In September 2009, the House of Representatives passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) (H.R.3221). This bill includes the Early Learning Challenge Fund, which will provide competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high-quality early learning systems for children up to age five. The Fund will be jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Unfortunately, the Early Learning Challenge Fund was not included in the final student aid package passed by Congress in March 2010. 2007 Head Start ReauthorizationHead Start, which was created to meet the need for comprehensive development services for low-income children, has been a tremendous success for those lucky enough to participate. But when Congress took up Head Start reauthorization in 2003, its quality was threatened by a proposal to turn its jurisdiction over to the states. Over the course of four years, RESULTS activists generated hundreds of pieces of media and lobbied their members of Congress repeatedly. REF held a media campaign, including a call joined by over 50 journalists. When the bill was finally signed into law in December of 2007, it included a number of victories. It maintains federal oversight, eliminates inappropriate standardized testing of Head Start children, and authorizes an increase in funding for Early Head Start, the program for infants and toddlers. We are building on our successful campaign by pushing for adequate federal investment to implement the quality improvements included in the reauthorization. Additional Resources:
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Head Start really changed my life. It not only gave me time to put myself together, it made me a better parent. And it really prepares the kids for school.