July 24, 2003
BY
KAREN
BERKOWITZ
– Evanston
Review
Evanston advocates for early childhood education are furiously
e-mailing and telephoning congressional lawmakers in hopes of
defeating a Republican plan that many contend would "dismantle" the
Headstart program by placing its future in the hands of
cash-crunched states.
Headstart
providers nationally have accused the Bush administration of using "stale data"
to support the argument that Headstart needs to resharpen its focus on academic
readiness for the nation's poorest children.
The Headstart
reauthorization bill, known as the School Readiness Act, would shift the
program to the U.S. Department of Education. While the measure originally
called for sending block grants directly to the states, the revised plan would
test the funding change in eight states, which could fold Headstart into their
state-funded preschool programs.
"The perception
that Headstart was not focused on preparing children for school is really an
incorrect perception," said Martha Arntson, executive director of the Childcare
Network of Evanston, the grant recipient for the Early Headstart program in
Evanston.
"I don't think
the government has enough data from Headstart," Arntson said. "They may say
that 30 percent of Headstart youngsters are not ready for kindergarten, but
they don't mention that the other 70 percent are. It skews the public
perception."
Currently,
local Headstart programs receive funds directly from the federal government,
which administers the programs through the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
At District
65's Joseph E. Hill Education Center, about 136 children three to five years of
age are served in full- and half-day Headstart classes. The federal dollars
supporting the program are funneled through North Suburban CEDA.
Two Early
Headstart programs coordinated by other agencies serve an additional 88 clients
- some infants and toddlers under 3 years old, some pregnant women or teen
mothers.
The Early
Headstart programs are offered through the Infant Welfare Society at its Teen
Baby Nursery and Baby Toddler Nursery. Early Headstart clients also are served
through the Child Care Center of Evanston Home Day Care Network.
Helps parents work
To qualify for
Headstart services, income must be at or below federal poverty guidelines, now
about $11,800 for a single mother with one child and $18,400 for a family of
four. In addition to the preschool experiences provided youngsters, Headstart
programs help parents enter the work force, link families with health-care
providers and generally help parents make the transition from welfare and
dependency to self-sufficiency and work, according to Arntson.
"Headstart has
very high standards for quality early childhood programming that is not just
focused on the child, but is focused on the entire family," said the
administrator. "By calling it the School Readiness Act, it doesn't account for
the comprehensive services that Headstart provides to families. Headstart is
perhaps the only place that families can access those services through
supportive referrals."
A vote on the
latest version of HR 2210, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Michael Castle (R-Delaware),
has twice been postponed in the U.S. House of Representatives amid a flurry of
opposition.
Lobbying
fiercely against the changes have been the National Headstart Association, the
Illinois Headstart Association and other advocacy organizations.
Opponents fear
that state lawmakers trying to plug their own budget shortfalls will be tempted
to divert block grant funds or use the money as a reason to cut back on
existing state resources for early childhood programs.
Opponents also
worry that the inconsistency of state performance standards could accelerate
Headstart's demise if the results posted by state programs are unimpressive.
Headstart
providers also object to the small increase proposed in federal funding and a
provision that would allow faith-based organizations running Headstart programs
to consider religion in hiring employees.
While
Evantson's representative in the House, Janice Schakowsky, R-9th, opposes HR
2210, as are other House Democrats, Arntson said it's a mistake for
constituents to feel that they don't need to place the call.
"In fact, we do
need to call because she needs to understand how important it is that we not
dismantle Headstart. Because," said Arntson, "Headstart - as we know it and do
it - would be dismantled."
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