Leaving Lots of Children Behind
In the name of reform, the Bush administration wants to weaken Head Start.
By Jimmie Turner
NEW YORK CITY & COLUMBUS, OHIO
President Bush has broken his campaign pledge to improve education and "leave no child behind." Instead, he and congressional conservatives are trying to weaken one of the most successful and popular education initiatives in American history — Head Start.
Since 1965, Head Start has provided more than 20 million needy children with outstanding early-childhood education, including nutritional and medical support. In addition, it offers outreach programs to parents, and many of them go on to become Head Start teachers and social workers, while their children get a real head start on a productive life they might not achieve otherwise.
At the heart of the Bush administration's attack is the elimination of federal dollars sent directly to Head Start programs across the country. Instead, the funds will go to the states in the form of so-called block grants, which carry fewer restrictions. Opponents of the proposal fear that state lawmakers will be tempted to use the funds for other purposes. AFSCME also strongly objects to the Bush recommendations — including the eight-state "demonstration" project — because they open the door for the administration to ultimately change the direction of Head Start.
This past July, the House passed a block-grant bill by a single vote. Every Democrat and 12 Republicans voted against it. Because of lackluster support, House Republicans had to compromise and back off their scheme to redirect funding to every state — instead, approving the plan for eight states.
A PROGRAM OF HOPE. Bush's plan will shortchange nearly 1 million low-income pre-school children and leave entire families in despair. Venai Burrs, a by-product of Head Start, lost her mother to a murderer when she was 15 years old; her father died three months later. "At one point in my life, I did not want to go on," she says. "I felt that I had lost everything."
Burrs got married and gave birth to the first of her two daughters when she was 19. At 21, she took the older child to Head Start. There she met staff members who convinced her that she, too, could improve. "I learned to love myself, and accept what I can't change and work hard at what I can."
Twenty-five years later, Burrs works as a Family Service Advocate for the Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan Area Community Action Organization Head Start. She is studying for a college degree in social work. Her daughters, now 27 and 24, already have degrees.
AFSCME has represented Head Start employees as far back as 1970. Since 1999, the International has organized nearly 5,000 more in 13 states — helping workers win higher salaries, health benefits and career development.
To fight the Bush plan, our lobbyists have been working with such senators as Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who serves on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and staunchly supports Head Start. In July, Senate Democrats announced their counter-proposal, which calls for no shift of power to states and seeks funding increases to expand the program to more eligible children.
LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE! "Mr. President, if you really care about the families and the people of this country, you will not cut this program," says Burrs. "Head Start has worked. It helped me to learn to care about myself and be proud of who I am — to know that I can achieve anything I want to if I work hard at it."
Across the country, Head Start employees have lobbied lawmakers against changing the existing program. In New York City, scores of workers have contacted their respective House and Senate representatives. Reports Betty Powell, president of Local 95 (DC 1707) and a Family Service Coordinator at Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant Early Childhood Development Center, "We have encouraged members to write, fax or call their politicians, explain some of the successes in Head Start and tell them why it should remain community-based."
Powell and other members of the council's executive board talked directly with Clinton's staff. Such board members as Sandra Montrose were able to share personal stories about how the program has shaped lives in a positive manner, providing hope and inspiration where they are scarce. Head Start workers fear entire communities could erode if the program is significantly weakened.
Says Burrs: "Our mission is to help low-income families prosper. I could go to 50 to 75 people in Columbus who have been touched by the Head Start program and would say it has helped them. There are also close to 300 Head Start workers in the city who would be able to say the same thing about a whole different group of people.
"It's just a wonderful program, and I have been truly blessed to be a part of it."
