by Dean Hartwell
President Bush has said that he will
"leave no child behind." He now has a chance to back up that
statement by saving a federal program.
Head Start provides academic, social and nutritional help to almost one million
children in the
At first, the Bush Administration wanted to turn Head Start over to all fifty
states. But, after negotiations with Democrats in the House of
Representatives, the Administration lowered its demands to eight states.
Would the switch to state control help or hurt children?
Such a shift could allow states to reduce funding for the program and reduce
the program's effectiveness in serving children. Representative Maxine Waters
recently remarked that there would be no guarantee that states would even
continue it.
Edward Zigler, one of the founders of Head Start,
said recently that the federal government has a quality control system
unmatched by any state. And, he pointed out that, given the economic climate,
now is a poor time to turn control of programs over to states. "Governor
George Pataki has proposed terminating
According to Yolanda Young, who benefited from the program as a child, the
program in its current form helps children in many ways. "the vaccinations and free meals [children] receive at Head
Start are the only medical and nutritional attention they get."
Head Start is one of the few federal programs whose effectiveness liberals and
conservatives alike acknowledge as effective. Bush's plan to turn it over
to the states would not only leave children behind, it would ignore them.