School Matters: 7,000 Head Start Spots At Risk - NAM

School Matters: 7,000 Head Start Spots At Risk - NAM

When 3-year-old Aaliah Sandoval began preschool at Good Beginnings Head Start in Los Angeles, she was very shy and did not talk much, even to her mother. But Aaliah quickly made friends, and now she can count up to 10, sings her ABCs every night before bed and understands the daily routine at school – all skills that prepare her to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.

Aaliah is one of 7,000 California children who attended Head Start and Early Head Start programs thanks to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. But even with the new federal stimulus funds, many of our lowest-income children are still waiting – over 70 percent of eligible kids still do not have access to the programs.

The recession has been especially tough on low-income families, many of them families of color. They may be squeezed further by proposed state budget cuts to CalWORKS child care and Proposition 10, which funds First 5 California’s education, health services and other critical programs for young children.

That’s why President Obama’s recent fiscal year 2011 budget proposal, which included significant investments in early learning programs, is such good news. Building upon his earlier commitment to a comprehensive plan for children from birth to age 5, the president proposed a $989 million increase to the Head Start and Early Head Start budget to maintain stimulus funding levels, allowing us to continue serving the 7,000 children in California who started the programs last year. The proposal also included a $1.6 billion increase in the Child Care and Development Block Grant and support for pending legislation that would provide $8.9 billion over 10 years for an Early Learning Challenge Fund.

We have already seen these investments being put to good use in local communities. As with Aaliah, stimulus funds made it possible for 4-year-old Jesus Florez to attend Head Start in South El Monte, where he has learned to sing songs, and play games that teach him alphabet letters, an important skill that will help him learn to read.