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WASHINGTON, DC -- Budget cuts proposed by the Bush administration and signed into law last year will force the permanent closure of over two-thirds of the federally-financed family literacy centers serving American Indian tribes unless Congress restores funding to save them, a group of House Democrats warned last week.
Under the fiscal year 2006 budget, federal funding for the Even Start Family Literacy Program – which boosts reading and literacy skills for children and adults in low-income families – was slashed by 56 percent, from $225 million to just $99 million. As a result of this cut, less than one-third of tribal Even Start centers will remain open. There are now 28 tribal Even Start programs operating in the U.S.; the budget cuts will shut the doors at 20 of them by July 2006. But Congress could still appropriate funding to allow the centers to reopen after one year, in July 2007.
“Once again, the Administration’s budget is pulling the rug out from under children and families most in need of valuable programs that enhance their education and work skills. Poor and disadvantaged families cannot afford to lose supportive services that help them succeed in their classrooms, fully participate at work, and make valuable contributions to their communities,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee. “Congress must act immediately to restore funding for these programs, and give these families a fair chance at better educational and career opportunities.”
“Congress needs to provide as many opportunities as possible for all Americans in getting a good education and becoming a vital part of our workforce,” said Rep. Kildee, the Senior Democrat on Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness. “Even Start makes the playing field a little more fair for disadvantaged and low-income families, including Native Americans for whom we have promised such opportunities. The federal government has a trust responsibility to Native Americans, and these cuts are a breach of that trust.”
Miller and Kildee, joined by Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Stephanie Herseth (D-SD) and 62 other Democratic lawmakers, sent a letter to the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education urging that funding of the program be restored to $225 million in fiscal year 2007.
There are 28 tribal family literacy centers nationwide that currently receive Even Start funding. Eleven of them have already learned that their funding has been discontinued. Of the 17 that remain, nine will also soon learn that their funding has been discontinued. The 17 centers are located in White Earch and Cloquet, Minnesota; Rock Hill, South Carolina; Fort Totten, North Dakota; Rock Point, Arizona; Bluff, Utah; Valley Center, Bishop, Chico, Shasta Lake City and Pala, California; Box Elder and Poplar, Montana; Baraga, Michigan; Durant, Oklahoma; and Rosebud, South Dakota.
The Even Start Literacy Program provides a wide variety of comprehensive literacy services for families, including adult education, parenting education, early childhood education and interactive parent and childhood literacy activities. It is the only literacy program in the country to provide services for both adults and children. More than eight out of 10 families in the program live below the federal poverty level. The program was first created in 1988 by former Rep. Bill Goodling (R-PA), who also served as the chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee.
President Bush has recommended eliminating the Even Start Family Literacy program for the past several years, but 2006 was the first year that the Republican-led Congress agreed to such massive cuts to the program.
For the full text of the lawmakers’ letter to save Even Start, visit: http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pdf/evenstart.pdf.
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