In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson launched “Undertaking Head Begin,” a summer season program meant to assist youngsters from low-income households put together for varsity. Sixty years later, Head Begin has expanded right into a multi-billion program working in all 50 states, serving preschoolers in addition to infants, toddlers and pregnant ladies.
However this system is dealing with severe challenges, resembling latest disruptions in federal funding, and cuts amongst staffers who oversee this system. In a latest function story, reporter Anya Kamenetz delved into Head Begin’s unsure future. I requested Anya what she realized from her reporting. Her responses have been edited for size and readability.
Q: Head Begin is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this 12 months, and has persevered by each Democratic and Republican presidential administrations. Nonetheless, it appears to be uniquely susceptible this 12 months. What is going on that places this system in danger?
A: Numerous the federal workers has been fired. And Undertaking 2025, which the Trump administration has been following carefully, requires eliminating this system altogether. (Editor’s notice: this week, the Division of Well being and Human Companies, which oversees Head Begin, positioned staffers at 5 of Head Begin’s 10 regional workplaces on administrative go away.)
Q: Critics of Head Begin say that this system is poorly run and that the cash might be higher spent on the native stage. Based on its supporters, why is Head Begin nonetheless an essential program?
A: This system has all the time been severely underfunded, serving solely a fraction of eligible youngsters. The lapses in high quality that we find out about have come to mild partially as a result of this system has higher oversight and better high quality requirements than the present patchwork of backed, nonprofit and for-profit applications in any other case accessible throughout the nation. Head Begin has been proven to enhance long-term instructional outcomes. As well as, lawmakers are threatening cuts to Head Begin alongside cuts to applications that help households throughout the board, from meals stamps to Medicaid.
Q: States and native communities are stepping in to broaden their early childhood choices. Did state officers share with you if they’re able to step in ought to Head Begin be minimize or if the funding shifts?
A: Sure, a shiny spot in my article was that in states like Vermont and New Mexico the place they’ve been dedicated to increasing entry to childcare, they’re intending to maintain this a precedence even when federal funding shifts. (Editor’s notice: The Hechinger Report wrote lately about state and native efforts to broaden youngster care applications.)
This story about Head Begin was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, unbiased information group centered on inequality and innovation in schooling. Join the Hechinger publication.
