President Donald Trump’s Administration has said they plan to remodel Head Start, a program providing free learning and development services to children under 5 years old from low-income families.
Eve Del Real, Director of Early Head Start and Head Start, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the concerns raised by the community about potential adjustments to the program.
Head Start not only provides early education programs, but also incorporates health services for families during some of the most critical times of their lives, Real said.
“It’s a program that has a 61-year history, and it’s backed by evidence that we know that it definitely makes a difference in the lives of children and families,” she said.
The Trump Administration has proposed limiting Head Start spending on administrative overhead.
“For us, there is considerable concern about the impact and what that will do in terms of the service that we’re providing for families,” Real said.
Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the proposed changes would encourage more local decision-making. However, the proposal has raised concerns across the Head Start community, where advocates said it threatens the backbone of the antipoverty initiative.
“It’s difficult for us as we’re looking at the practices that we know lead to higher outcomes for children that are on the chopping block,” Real said.
She said a major concern for the Arizona program is the ratio of group sizes. The children with higher needs would not receive the same amount of support in a larger group, Real said.
“In Arizona, there is no cap on group size, so when we look at it and compare it with what the outcome would be, it would not provide children with the same experience,” Real said.
Head Start is asking community members to leave comments of support for the organization on the Health and Human Services website, open until October 6.
