A recent survey conducted by the National Head Start Association (NHSA) shows that the current federal funding is not enough to assist programs in some states from offering the full breadth of services, specifically pupil transportation.

The report published from the findings, "Quality of Head Start Programs Imperiled By Steady Erosion of Funding," showed that 37 states, or 46 percent of respondents, have either reduced or eliminated transportation for students to and from the programs.

"In some cases programs won’t be able to enroll as many kids," said Ben Allen, Ph.D., research and evaluation director for NHSA. "If you’re located in a rural area, you’re going to need buses to transport kids over long distances."

The survey, which was sent out to approximately 1,500 Head Start program directors, was designed to understand how a 1 percent cut in federal funding during the 2006 fiscal year affected programs nationally and in each state. This cut is part of an estimated 13 percent inflation-adjusted reduction in federal funding between fiscal years 2002 and 2008.

"We haven’t kept up with inflation since 2005. You get the same amount of money, but it is not worth the same," said Allen. "Everyone says they love Head Start, but when you have a war going on and tax cuts, they says there’s not enough money."

According to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), each program has a fair amount of discretion in making adjustments to their budgets, given the significant funding increases they have received since 1991.

"The fact that Head Start grantees have not seen significant funding increases in the last few years does not suggest that grantees can no longer provide transportation services," said Tara J. Wall, director of the Office of Public Affairs for the ACF. "The fact that hundreds of programs continue to provide transportation to Head Start children suggests, to us, that there are ways for a Head Start grantee to continue to manage a transportation program."

Although transportation is only one of the services that programs across the nation are having trouble offering, it can lead to increased absenteeism.

"If a program is not at full enrollment, the Office of Head Start can take away funding," said Allen. "It’s harder to have full enrollment when you don’t have full transportation services."

"We do not have any data to suggest that absenteeism rates nationwide have increased or that programs are having any more difficulty in enrolling children," said Wall.

NHSA is currently heading a grass roots campaign to address the need for an increase in funding.

"Overall, we’re pushing for a $750 million annual increase in funding in 2007-08," said Allen. "A study conducted in 2003 suggested that for every dollar you invest in a child, society saves approximately $9."