Federal cuts lead to fewer Head Start slots in the Sacramento area
Published: Saturday, Sep. 14, 2013 - 12:00 am
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| Resource teacher Sally Evey, left, works with Head Start students in August at Washington Elementary School in downtown Sacramento Hundreds of needy Sacramento-area children no longer can attend preschool or get needed services because of federal sequester cuts. Head Start programs across the country have had to shutter classrooms, stop transportation and cut food programs to make up for a 5.27 percent cut in funding from the federal government. |
Head Start programs in the Sacramento region began the school year with fewer preschoolers after federal leaders imposed across-the-board budget cuts in January.
Besides providing preschool education and child care, Head Start serves as a one-stop shop offering health screenings, meals, nutrition advice and access to social services. Advocates say the program is essential to giving impoverished children a chance to succeed once they start kindergarten.
In Sacramento County, Head Start providers cut 171 seats, or 2.7 percent of the nearly 6,200 slots that were available last year, according to the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency, which administers the county’s program.
Federal officials say California lost $50 million and 5,600 spaces for Head Start preschoolers, about 5 percent of the state’s enrollment.
“This is the largest cut since Head Start was founded,’’ said Kathy Davidson, director of the E