Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

Just For Parents-NHSA

May 14, 2003

Just For Parents

A Newsletter from NHSA??™s Government Affairs Division
May 2003

Please circulate this document to all Head Start parents

We are pleased to present www.SaveHeadStart.org, a great new advocacy
tool to help parents and the Head Start community with their advocacy
efforts. The National Head Start Association unveiled the Web site on
April 16. Not only is it informative, it is interactive, allowing Head
Start parents to communicate with their members of Congress almost
instantly. It is very important that we share our concerns with members of
Congress while they are in the process of Head Start reauthorization.

As Congress works on reauthorizing Head Start, they will review the
Bush Administration??™s proposal to move Head Start to the Department of
Education and more importantly block grant Head Start to states. Because
of your advocacy efforts, the move from the Department of Health and
Human Services to the Department of Education may not take place but
block granting is very much a possibility. It is crucial that Head Start
not be block granted. Therefore, it is vital that we continue to educate
and share our concerns with Congress throughout the reauthorization of
Head Start.

Block granting Head Start would allow federal funds to be delivered to
states rather than directly to local communities. This would bring an
end to the national performance standards used to direct Head Start
services. If these changes are allowed to take place, it could mean the end
of Head Start, its comprehensive services, and federal-to-local funding
structure. Most states are faced with budget short falls ??” if block
granted, Head Start funds could be used to offset state budget short
falls and reduce the quality of Head Start. We can not allow this to
happen to the children and families served by Head Start.

Let your elected officials know that you do not want to change the
structure of Head Start or have Head Start block granted to states by
visiting www.saveheadstart.org. Just sign-on to the Web site, provide your
information in the space provided, and send your message immediately to
your elected officials. Contact other parents, family members, friends,
and members of your community, and encourage them to visit the Web site
and let their voices be heard. If you do not have an e-mail address,
enter protectmykids@hotmail.com in the space that requires your e-mail
address. We are making progress, but we must continue the fight to Save
Head Start!