Dodd Vows to Preserve Head Start Funding
By Paul Ziobro
WASHINGTON – Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) Wednesday vowed to preserve federal funding for the national Head Start program and resist a push by Republicans to move it to another federal department
At the Neon Head Start in Norwalk, director Elaine Liberto said the four local programs, which serve 290 children from 3 to 5 years old in a full-day program, would welcome Dodd’s bid to retain the funds..
“It will provide for additional working parents a place to put their kids in school,” Liberto said Wednesday. “The dollars they provide us are necessary to serve all the families we work with.”
Liberto said the four Norwalk Head Start facilities receive $1.3 million a year in federal funds to run their programs, which provide services to low-income children and families in the areas of health, education, social services and parent involvement. According to the National Head Start Association (NHSA), Connecticut had 7,356 children enrolled in 29 programs in 2001.
“We want to ensure other programs of Head Start are maintained. We want it be a complete package for families and keep the levels of administration low to keep the costs down,” Liberto said.
Last week, Dodd’s proposed legislation to boost funds for Head Start by about $200 million failed. However, the Senate adopted a modified version of his amendment that would leave the 35-year-old program immune from the 2.9 percent across-the-board budget cuts imposed on domestic programs, according to Dodd.
Liberto said that without the amendment to prevent cuts, Head Start would operate with $63 million less than in 2002 and that 23,000 children nationwide could not participate.
Speaking to over 300 Head Start teachers, parents, directors and volunteers in a Senate caucus room, Dodd said: “I will work hard to retain funding for Head Start. And I urge you all to work with me to ensure that our commitment to school readiness for our nation’s poorest children remains strong,”
NHSA members were in Washington to rally for their version of the program’s reauthorization, which includes preventing attempts to slash funding and relocate the group to the Department of Education from the Department of Health and Human Services. Head Start organizers want a $1 billion increase in the program to serve every eligible child.
Dodd said shifting the program to the Education Department would be problematic because the program is not just about educating young children.
“I often argue that Head Start is a stealth health program – making sure that low-income children have their immunizations, access to health coverage and developmental screenings to ensure that they are developing as they should,” Dodd said.
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th) said after Wednesday’s meeting that he also supported Head Start.
“Early childhood is a critical time for children to develop the physical, emotional, social and cognitive skills they will need for the rest of their lives. A child who enters school without these skills runs a significant risk of starting behind and staying behind,” Shays said. “Head Start is one of the best investments we can make in our country’s future”
Dodd, the senior Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s Subcommittee on Children and Families, has earned praise over the years from Head Start backers, and today’s audience showed their appreciation. Before he spoke, 25 children from a Washington, D.C., program sang a song about friendship in both English and Spanish.
“We once named Sen. Dodd our senator of the decade, but we should have named him senator of the century,” Sarah Greene, NHSA president and CEO, said.
Liberto said she was equally pleased with Dodd’s efforts. “We’re happy he’s trying to preserve our funding and we’re trying to keep the families informed of what’s happening,” she said.
Published in The Hour, in Connecticut.
