Head Start Reauthorization Too Little, Too Late For Some

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In light of the recent signing of the Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, members of the Head Start community are ready and willing to voice their opinions.

“It is not enough; costs go up but the grant money has stayed the same,” said Kemble Tellefson, transportation generalist for the Oregon Child Development Coalition. “They do not seem to understand how important transportation is to a Head Start program.”
One national association is also not happy with the increase and is hoping more local agencies will voice their opinions.

“We were very shocked and disappointed that Head Start, rather than receiving a $153.6 million funding increase — which had bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate — was actually slated for what is in essence a reduction in funding of over $10 million,” said National Head Start Association Interim President and CEO Michael McGrady. “The disappointing part is that for the last six years, the president pretty much tried to balance the federal budget on the back of low income children and families.”

McGrady also pointed out President Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill, which would have added $35 billion to the program over the next five years. Rather than present the Bush Administration with a Head Start bill that would have helped fund the struggling federal Head Start program, bipartisan supporters “gave him pretty much what he wanted, along with an opportunity to continue to cut domestic programs,” said McGrady, who was named interim president at the beginning of December and has not been afraid to voice his disappointment.

“We did the photo ops. We went up on the Hill and sat there and watched them sign the bill. They stood there and held Head Start children in their arms and they talked about the need for supporting low income children and families. But that was just talk. The time for photo ops has ended. We need them to put some action behind their words now,” said McGrady.

As NHSA’s interim leader, McGrady plans to approach members of both the House and Senate to make them aware of the needs of low income children and families, to actually face the children and families affected and understand the impact the passage of the bill will have on them. He is also asking the Head Start community at large to stand up and be heard.

“Children that Head Start serves are not Republican, Democrats, Libertarians or Independents; they are America’s children,” said McGrady. “We need to get out and ask our parents to be more aware of what’s taking place politically. We need to inform our parents who supports them and their children.”