Head Start federal program faces citizenship rule pause

Head Start is a federally funded program that serves children and their families who are at or below the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Head Start provides early education for 3–5 year old children, parent involvement and family support, and comprehensive health and nutrition education for children. Early Head Start serves women who are pregnant and children from birth to 3 years old.

Eve Del Real, Director of Early Head Start and Head Start joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss Trump’s recent directive requiring children to be citizens to enroll into Head Start.

Trump’s recent directive went into effect immediately, but, Head Start programs are unsure what exactly the new rules are.

“The whole process itself is challenging to understand, starting with who’s determined eligible,” Del Real said. “It’s unclear if we’re determining the legal status of the parent, of the child, members of the household.”

Head Start is not a temporary source of well-being for young families, but a program that creates a path of success for both children and their families. According to Del Real, assisting families with connections, like workforce development, is a stepping stone to breaking cycles of generational poverty.

“We have 60 years worth of evidence and research that demonstrate that Head Start does make a difference in a family’s life,” Del Real said.

Nationally, Head Start serves 700,000 children; in Arizona, they serve 17,000. Since the new directive, Del Real said that Head Start programs are seeing an increase in absences of children as their families are fearful for their safety.

Moving forward Head Start programs will comply with any regulations the government sets, but Del Real stressed the importance of all families having support available.

“We want to ensure that families don’t lose the faith in the program, and that families who may be eligible move forward with seeking our support,” Del Real said.