Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

A HEAD START FOR A NEW GENERATION

Nov 09, 2002

NATIONAL HEAD START ASSOCIATION'S

REAUTHORIZATION CAMPAIGN 2003:

"A HEAD START FOR A NEW GENERATION"



Founded in 1965, Head Start's mission was to ensure that no child in
America be trapped in poverty's grasp. The program was built on the
belief that early intervention, through a targeted array of comprehensive
services, would enable every child to live up to their highest potential.
Through the years, the program has served millions of children and
families and has a proven track record of removing the shackles of poverty.
The success of the program has been well documented by numerous
studies, including the most recent Family and Child Experience Survey (FACES),
and the many high achieving alumni who include doctors, lawyers,
teachers, engineers, and even members of Congress. While we know Head Start
to be an enormous success, we hope to build upon these successes to make
the program even better!



At the recent Leadership Institute held from September 25th through
September 27th the National Head Start Association's Board of Directors
approved its 2003 reauthorization agenda. This forward thinking platform
consists of innovative ideas that will strengthen the program for this
generation.



We Support:



Giving Every Child a Head Start
Head Start has enough slots for only six out of every 10 eligible
children because of a lack of resources. With more than 400,000 low-income
children and families in need of high quality child development
services, now is the time to fulfill the promise of full funding.

Serving the Youngest Children
Research shows that children learn earlier than previously thought;
therefore, there is a growing need to provide services from the prenatal
period through age 5. Today, just 3 percent of children eligible for
Early Head Start are able to participate because of a lack of funding.
NHSA proposes that Head Start programs be given the flexibility to serve
children prenatally through age 5 to reach children in the earliest
years.

Supporting Working Families
With advent of welfare reform and skyrocketing housing costs, some
programs find that there is a need to support families who are working but
still very poor. Yet due to the low-income guidelines set for Head
Start (100 percent of poverty), these families are denied services that
would likely keep them off of public assistance and allow them to be
self-sustaining. To remedy this problem NHSA proposes that programs have the
flexibility to serve 25 percent of children and families that are
over-income.

Providing Every Child With High Quality Programming
To ensure that every child who participates in Head Start receives the
quality programming they deserve, NHSA proposes that a high quality
set-aside be a part of any final reauthorization legislation.





Educational Excellence for Our Teachers
Current law states that at least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers
nationwide in center-based programs have at least an associate's degree
by September 30, 2003. Head Start met this challenge, and many teachers
today have bachelor's and other advanced degrees. To keep moving in the
right direction, NHSA proposes that 75 percent of all Head Start
teachers have at least an associate's degree by 2005 and that by September
30, 2008 all Head Start teachers have at least an associate's degree. We
also believe that this issue should be coupled with legislative
language that provides evidence of the correlation between teacher education
and the educational gains of children before implementation is required.



Moreover, NHSA still recognizes and supports all staff that come from
the local community and will continue to support the CDA as a good
starting point. However, at the same time we also want to encourage teachers
to pursue higher educational levels for their own development and that
of the families and children they serve.

Retaining and Attracting the Best and Brightest
The average Head Start teacher makes only $21,000 a year, less than the
average secretary. With such low pay, even the most dedicated and hard
working teachers are not willing to make such a sacrifice for long. The
same is true of other staff at Head Start programs. Although some
estimate that it would cost at least an additional $1 billion simply to pay
Head Start teachers the same salary as public school teachers, NHSA
proposes a more modest approach to attract and retain the best. We propose
that either as part of the Head Start Act or the Higher Education Act,
a provision be included that all qualified staff who work for a Head
Start program for at least 3 years be provided with partial or full loan
forgiveness. This would provide strong incentives for staff to stay
with Head Start programs despite the low pay and minimal fringe benefits.
We also support the creation of a scholarship program for Head Start
staff who wish to return to school to obtain a bachelor's or advanced
degree.

Reducing and/or establishing an automatic hardship exemption for the 20
percent match
The Head Start Act requires programs to contribute 20 percent of the
approved cost of the program. Because of the current economic climate and
the difficulty especially for rural programs to obtain the 20 percent
match, NHSA proposes that it be reduced and/or an automatic hardship
exemption be created to expedite the process. The hardship exemption would
be based on a strict set of guidelines. We also support broadening the
definition of what can be counted towards the match.

Maintaining a Five-Year Reauthorization
Head Start programs need a sufficient time period to put in place any
new standards and to evaluate their results. By providing programs a
sense of security and stability to implement and evaluate new
requirements, Head Start can ensure that each child is provided the highest
quality experience possible. A five-year reauthorization would make it
possible.







Amending the Quality Improvement Plan
NHSA proposes amending the Quality Improvement Plan process to put
clear obligations on ACF. In particular, we propose that the current
one-year correction period start from the approved QIP not from the notice of
being out of compliance.

Loosening the Application of Cost Principles
NHSA supports loosening the application of cost principles to allow the
creation of "excess" program income that can be used for one time costs
in order to streamline funding.

11. Strengthening Migrant and Indian Head Start Programs

NHSA believes that Migrant and Indian Head Start programs need to be
strengthened and that the unique concerns of these populations, as
identified by their representation, deserve considerable attention in any
reauthorization bill.



We Oppose:



Moving Head Start to the Department of Education
By moving Head Start to the Department of Education, Head Start is
likely to see the comprehensive services and the parental involvement
component watered down. Plus, there is no evidence that Head Start is not
doing a good job with literacy and language development as the
administration has charged. In fact, all the recent studies find that the
opposite is true.

Efforts to Block Grant Head Start
There is a similar concern that states would not maintain the quality
of the program such as is needed to serve low-income children and
families. States often do not utilize funds to target the neediest of
families as a recent GAO report pointed out. The report found that federal
funds are eight times more likely than state funds to target the poorest
children.

Any effort to "voucherize" Head Start
Taking money away from an already under-funded program with a proven
track record and giving it to private sector corporations with no track
record is a step backward not forward.

Privatizing Head Start
We oppose any efforts to siphon off tax dollar money to corporate
coffers.



We would like to maintain:



Federal to Local Structure.
National Program Standards.
Local flexibility in program design, type of assessment, curriculum,
and so on.
Fifty-state collaboration grants, but also add clear guidelines that
give state Head Start associations more input and approval powers.