HS- HEAD START

President Lyndon B. Johnson declares "War on Poverty"

1965-Head Start launches as a 9 week summer program and serves over 560,000 Fall - becomes a 9 month program, primarily less than full days

cons

A study done by the Department of Health and Human Services found that the benefits of the program completely diminish by the time the children reach first grade in terms of academics Extremely expensive (over 7 billion a year) with an average cost of about $7,600 per child Fairly controversial when determining effectiveness (test scores vs social and emotional growth) Some argue there isn't enough focus on academics

Bipartisan Support

Bipartisan support has been strong from the beginning but lately we've been seeing a decrease President Bush signed into law the Improving Head Start Act for School Readiness Act of 2007, which reauthorized Head Start and Early Head Start through September 30th 2012

qualifications

Children from birth to age five living in families with incomes below the poverty guidelines are eligible There are separate poverty guidelines for both Alaska and Hawaii Children from homeless families and families receiving TANF or SSI assistance are eligible Children in foster homes are eligible regardless of the foster family's income Poverty guidelines are adjusted for families of different sizes In determining whether a child who has applied for enrollment meets the criteria, an individual may consider evidence of family income during 12 months preceding the month in which the application is submitted, or during the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the application is submitted

overview

Head Start promotes school readiness for young children from low-income families Head Start goes through local agencies within the community of the family in need The programs support the development of children through: Centers, schools, child care partner locations, or in their own homes -In the home, an assigned, designated staff member conducts weekly visits to children (parent is considered the primary teacher) Services include early learning, health, and family well-being

pros

Responsive to the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage of each child and family. Progress is made towards norms in language, literacy, and math. Head Start children have better social skills, impulse control, and approaches to learning. Head Start children show lower problem behaviors, such as aggression and hyperactivity. Obese, overweight, or underweight children in Head Start have a significantly healthier BMI by kindergarten More likely to receive dental checkups and have healthy eating patterns than non-participants As adults, Head Start children are more likely to graduate high school, attend college, and receive a post-secondary degree, license, or certification.

funding

federal