"For 60 years, Head Start has provided child care for the most vulnerable children in the United States with little controversy. It was established by a Democratic president, Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1965, and supported by a slew of Republicans since, including Richard Nixon, who called it "valuable"; Ronald Reagan, who established Head Start Awareness Month in the 1980s; and George H. W. Bush, who increased its funding."
"But the Trump administration has dealt several financial blows to the program this year. "For me and for a lot of other directors, trust has been deeply broken," said Jen Bailey, executive director of Reach Dane, which operates 17 child care centers in Wisconsin. "The mission is we serve the neediest of the needy and poorest of the poor. For us, changing that would violate the mission of Head Start.""
"The program, which now serves about 700,000 children, was created to support low-income families. It provides free child care to children ages 3 to 5 (Early Head Start serves those under 3) and offers a wide array of services for the entire family, including prenatal support, health screenings and connecting parents to job training, housing and food assistance."
Head Start was created in 1965 to provide free child care and family supports to low-income children and now serves about 700,000 children. The program offers services for families including prenatal support, health screenings, and connections to job training, housing and food assistance. The program enjoyed decades of bipartisan support from presidents and legislators across party lines. The Trump administration has implemented financial cuts and proposals that at one point threatened the program's elimination. Many Head Start directors report broken trust and warn that proposed changes could violate the program's mission to serve the neediest children.
Read at Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
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