Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

Keeping Head Start strong and successful

Jul 30, 2003

F.Y.I. here is an interesting Op Ed from the Boston Globe on Head
Start.

Keeping Head Start strong and successful

By Julius B. Richmond and Judith Palfrey, 7/19/2003

THE BUSH administration's proposal to shift the Head Start program
to the states should win an award for the worst domestic policy
proposal

of the year. To understand why, let's review the history of the program
and the
commitment the nation has made to enhance the development of its young,
poor children.

Head Start was founded in 1965 at the peak of the civil rights
revolution and when the war on poverty was established. It was at a
time
when Dr. Bettye Caldwell,
renowned education researcher, along with several others, had
documented

that well-formulated, comprehensive child development programs could
prevent the developmental decline observed in young children growing up
in poverty.

Policy makers understood that interrupting the cycle of poverty
depended

upon improving the developmental outcome of these children.

They decided that this could best be accomplished by establishing
contracts between the federal government and local communities, which
have proved to be remarkably effective in giving people in local
communities - and
particularly parents - ownership and commitment for the
health,education, and welfare of their young children.

This relationship is virtually unique among federal programs. It has
been remarkably functional and robust. With the states facing severe
budgetary and infrastructure problems with all services, it makes no
sense to transfer this program to them.

Other unique aspects should be mentioned. Based on the early research,
these programs were designed as comprehensive child development
programs. Thus health, including dental health and nutrition, are basic
components along with early childhood education, social services, and
parent involvement.

The recent attempts by the Bush administration to define Head Start as
a

literacy program denies the seamlessness of all aspects of the child's
early development. The most compelling scientific evidence for the
comprehensive approach has been outlined by the National Academy of
Sciences in its publication
''From Neurons to Neighborhoods.''

After 38 years of Head Start, what have been the results?

The American people should be proud that 20 million children have
graduated from the program. These children have been better fed and
nourished, have been properly immunized, have received appropriate
medical care, have had visual and hearing assessment and treatment so
that they arrive at
school ready to learn; and they are less likely to need special
education or to repeat a grade, representing a significant savings to
the community.

Head Start graduates have lower delinquency rates and go on to higher
education more frequently than nongraduates.

The stories of individual achievement are abundant. Head Start
graduates

who are now young adults have become teachers, doctors, nurses,
engineers, and many other occupations. They are giving back to the
community.

Rather than transferring the program to the states, we should be
thinking about extending the program to all poor children.

Currently, only three of five eligible 3- to 5-year-olds are enrolled.
The early Head Start program for those from 6 months old to 3 years old
was begun in recent years but covers only about 3 percent of eligible
children.

While there are critics who think that Head Start should produce better
results, they are a minority. While the program could always be better,
Head Start has a strong history of continuous improvements.

Enhancing the quality of the program surely makes sense as a next step
provided that the Bush administration and Congress increase funding to
support this goal. But the American people should not be deterred from
their commitment to insuring that poor children have better health,
education, and
nutrition.

They should extend their longstanding compact with the 2,000
communities

that sponsor Head Start programs, which serve more than 900,000
children

each year.

Julius B. Richmond is John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy
emeritus and Judith Palfrey is T. Berry Brazelton Professor of
Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.