[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17795]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEAD START PROGRAM

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today I rise to express my opposition 
to any proposed changes to Head Start that would dismantle the program. 
I understand the Bush administration is attempting to turn the Head 
Start program into a State block grant. A block grant is an amount of 
money that the Federal Government gives to the States for a specific 
purpose. Head Start is a well-respected program with a record of 
success. It is a comprehensive program that helps disadvantaged 
children and their families with early child development, literacy and 
health screenings. Why would we want to block grant a successful 
program? Too often block grants become an excuse to cut funding in the 
future. I do not believe that Head Start would be improved by changing 
successful local programs by imposing a new layer of administration at 
the State level. I am distressed to know that so many children of low-
income families will be denied the opportunity to enhance their early 
childhood development.
  The Head Start program was designed to help communities meet the 
needs of underprivileged preschool children from ages three to five and 
their families. Head Start provides diverse services in four areas--
education, health, parent involvement, and social services. Head 
Start's educational program is designed to meet the needs of each 
child, the community served, and its ethnic and cultural 
characteristics. Every child is involved in a comprehensive health 
program, which includes immunizations; medical, dental, and mental 
health; and nutritional services. An essential part of Head Start is 
the involvement of parents in parent education, program planning, and 
operating activities. Finally, specific social services are geared to 
each family.
  The West Virginia Head Start Association represents 24 Head Start 
programs statewide. Each Head Start program is unique in providing 
services to their families to meet the specific needs in the community. 
In 2000-01, West Virginia Head Start programs received funding to 
enroll 6,700 children. Over the years, I have enjoyed visiting local 
Head Start programs to visit with children and meet with parents, 
teachers and staff about the importance of early education.
  From the early stages of the Head Start program, Head Start has 
expanded to include services for pregnant women and children under the 
age of 3. The goal of Early Head Start is to encourage the development 
of infants and toddlers by assisting parents in recognizing their value 
as the caregiver and teacher of their children. Early Head Start 
provides services in and out of the home to families with young 
children and expectant families. They include parent education, 
nutrition services, case management, and support groups for parents. In 
2000-01, West Virginia received funding to enroll 325 children in 12 
counties.
  Early childhood development provides a safe and structured learning 
environment that prepares our sons and daughters to succeed to the best 
of their abilities regardless of ethnic background and income level. 
Since 1965, the program has been providing services to increase a 
child's readiness for school. Rather than restructuring Head Start, we 
should build on its success and invest in professional development, 
quality and expansion to cover more children.
  It is disappointing that the Bush Administration is trying to 
reorganize Head Start rather than investing in its strengths. I hope 
that the Senate will take a bipartisan approach to the reauthorization 
of Head Start, and build on the success of Head Start, not dismantle 
it. When I was Chairman of the Children's Commission years ago, our 
bipartisan Commission called for full funding of Head Start so that all 
eligible children were served. Serving all children and continuing to 
invest in quality should be our goals for the reauthorization of this 
program so that our children truly enter school ready to learn.

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