In Focus: Head Start/Early Head Start
Apr 01, 2013 | Permalink »
Sequestration, Budgets, and Continuing Resolutions: The Story Continues
Recently, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the work of the federal government through the remainder of fiscal year 2013 (FY13). The CR contained small increases for both child care ($50 million) and Head Start ($33.5 million). For child care, it is estimated that the additional funds will serve 9,000 children and help to lessen the blow of the estimated sequestration cuts still in place. However, for Head Start most additional funds are for activities related to the designation renewal systems, also known as re-competition, and will not fund many additional slots.
Unfortunately, the CR did not eliminate sequestration. Therefore, harmful cuts from the sequestration will continue to affect children and families across the country as Head Start and child care programs cut their 2013 budgets by about 5 percent by reducing the number of children served, cutting back schedules, and making many other difficult choices.
Mar 22, 2013 | Permalink »
Head Start by the Numbers: 2011 State Profiles Released
CLASP has just updated a unique resource for early childhood professionals interested in at-risk children: our Head Start State Profiles. These state profiles analyze the most recent Head Start Program Information Report (PIR) data from 2011. All Head Start grantees are required to submit PIR data to the federal government on an annual basis. Each profile includes data on all Head Start programs in the state: Early Head Start, Head Start preschool, and Migrant/Seasonal Head Start. The profiles also include information on Head Start participants, families, staff, and programs. CLASP has produced these fact sheets each year since 2005.
The national Head Start PIR Profile for 2011 shows that:
- Head Start served over 1.1 million children nationally.
- Twenty-six percent of children in Head Start spoke primarily Spanish in their homes.
- Forty-one percent of children served in Head Start were white, 37 percent were Hispanic, 38 percent were black, and 8 percent were bi- or multi-racial (note: overlap among these categories).
- Ninety-seven percent of children had access to a medical home and were up-to-date on their immunizations at the end of the Head Start program year. Ninety percent had access to dental home, and 96 percent had access to health insurance at the end of the program year.
- Seventy-nine percent of families accessed at least one family service through Head Start.
Visit CLASP's In the States to read the profile for your state, or view the national Head Start PIR Profile for 2011.
Mar 18, 2013 | Permalink »
We Need a Budget that Works for Kids and Families
Despite continued budget negotiations for the current fiscal year (FY 2013) and the recent onset of sequestration, Congress must also move forward with budget resolutions for FY 2014. The budget resolutions show us the priorities of the House and Senate, which prove to be vastly different.
The Senate budget plan, developed by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), shows strong support for children and families. Senator Murray outlines reserve funds for future mandatory spending. Reserve funds could be used for increased spending for Pre-kindergarten, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), and Home Visiting which are all critical supports for young children and their families. While calling for much needed increased investment in early childhood programs, Senator Murray's proposal also eliminates the sequestration for discretionary programs. This would prevent the harsh effects of sequestration and increase investments in key early education and child care programs serving vulnerable families.
Meanwhile, the House outlined its own FY 2014 budget plan , developed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). While the Ryan budget lacks specifics, it appears that it would clearly lead to massive and disproportionate cuts to countless services and programs vital to low-income individuals and families. While the House budget would reverse sequester cuts to the defense budget, domestic discretionary spending would be subject to cuts far deeper than those under sequestration-lower than at any point in the modern time. The budget also calls for unspecified cuts to other mandatory programs. Many programs would be affected including child care subsidies and Head Start.
While the outcome of the budget negotiations is uncertain, CLASP urges the early childhood field to advocate for the best interest of children and their families and for Congress to take action to support those most vulnerable.