Child care providers warn proposed federal changes could hurt Head Start services
Child care providers warn proposed federal changes could hurt Head Start services
Local child care providers sounded the alarm Monday on proposed changes to Head Start, which they said could undermine the quality and level of service children and families receive.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued a number of proposed changes in August, which would take out about 90% of the language outlining Head Start’s program performance standards.
Under the HHS proposal, most standards in effect would be removed, including most teaching and learning standards; for group size and ratios, Head Start would follow the child care licensing requirements in their state. Most standards related to health, mental health, oral health and developmental screenings would also be eliminated.
An HHS analysis estimated the changes would allow an extra 236,000 to be served, and save about $2.2 billion per year.
Those savings could come at the cost of providing the level of service that families need, said Brenda Fronzaglio, early learning director for Blueprints, a nonprofit community action agency that operates a Head Start program in Washington and Greene counties. Fronzaglio said the program serves about 700 children up to the age of 5, as well as an average of about 20 pregnant women who transition into early Head Start when they are born.
“What the Head Start program performance standards do for us is they take us to that next level to make sure that what we’re doing is research-based and it’s backed by quality,” she said. “And if those standards are gutted, like we think that they could be, if this all goes through, the concern is how will we be able to maintain that quality and the funding to support that.”
Blueprints CEO Trenna Passalacqua estimated that most of the wraparound services Head Start offers, such as screenings, will be “minimized, if not eliminated” if the new rules go into effect.
The proposal would eliminate the current requirements to provide a developmental screening for a child within 45 days of their enrollment, to determine within 90 days if they have a medical or dental provider, or to track follow-up care and ensure children get treatment.
Locally, Head Start offers vision screenings to help children get glasses to make sure they can learn in school, and dental screenings where they’ll be set up with an appointment with a dentist if they need a cavity filled, said Meghan Boddiford, health and nutrition manager for Blueprints. The Head Start program also does follow-up work to make sure the children are making their appointments and physicals, in conjunction with Blueprints’ family services.
“We work together, and without them and some of that hand-holding and education that we’re doing in the community, a lot of these children could possibly lack the services they need,” she said.
Joshua Helbley, one of Blueprints’ early learning family support coaches, helps facilitate parent committee meetings, where families learn about nutrition and preparing healthy meals. One recent presentation included preparing healthy meals from foods parents can buy at Dollar Tree.
“A lot of parents aren’t always thinking about that because they’re just worrying about what they can get that they can afford, that can feed them right then,” he said.
If those parent committees become optional under the new changes, then they may not get the funds to continue, Fronzaglio said.
Passalacqua said the committees have helped parents learn how to advocate for their children, with many parents also moving up to Head Start’s Policy Council, and then becoming more likely to stay involved in school organizations once their children reach kindergarten.
“I’ve just seen so many parents come through that process and really watch them develop, and move on to PTA, and really get involved in their districts, and they attribute that to their days in policy council,” she said. “Eliminating that or making it optional, if this all comes with reduced funding as well, you can see where it really starts to strip away all kinds of comprehensive pieces to keeping a family thriving and moving forward in a way that helps them become more sustainable over time.”
Parents could also potentially lose a source of aid, said Helbley, who recalled he and other Blueprints employees helping jumpstart a parent’s car in sub-zero temperatures, or talking to families who are having a tough time.
“Even if there’s nothing we can do about what’s going on right then and there, even just having someone to talk to about it that can be objective helps them tremendously, and a lot of families would be losing that,” he said.
Being in the Blueprints network has also helped families get access to other services, Passalacqua said. And the screenings that come soon after a child enrolls can help put them on the right path as they begin the school year.
“Some of those things get eliminated or reduced significantly, I just don’t know who’s going to pick up those pieces,” she said. “The cracks are going to get wider, and families and children are going to fall through them.”
The comment period for the proposed rule changes runs through Tuesday. HHS will review and respond to comments before issuing a final rule.