Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI 12) said Friday that she and a colleague had introduced the Head Start for America’s Children Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. Tlaib said the legislation would expand the Head Start program to ensure more than 11 million young children from low-income families can access high quality early education.
Head Start programs have provided services for more than 40 million children and working families for 60 years, according to the program's website. Head Start helps children get an early education, health and dental care, and healthy meals. Families can access job training resources, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support, Tlaib said.
But she said only 30% of eligible children in Michigan are enrolled in Head Start. “Families sit on long wait lists hoping for an open seat and are left scrambling because there simply aren't enough Head Start slots available,” she said.
Tlaib said underfunding has led to staffing shortages, aging facilities, and rising burdens for rent, utilities, and food. “Programs are being asked to do more with less,” she explained.
She said the Trump administration has undermined Head Start by closing regional offices and withholding federal funding. “These decisions have thrown programs into uncertainty, unsure if they can pay rent, pay teachers, and remain open,” Tlaib said. “They can't even plan ahead. They can't even promise the parents that next year there will be a slot for them. And that's just simply unacceptable.”
The Trump administration has said it's making changes to align spending with the priorities of American taxpayers and be a good steward of public funds..
According to a press release from Congresswoman Tlaib, the Head Start for America’s Children Act would:
- Fully fund Head Start to serve 11 million eligible young children
- Align program hours with the reality of working parents’ schedules
- Raise Head Start educator pay to at least $60,000 a year and establish benefits
- Improve mental health services for Head Start staff, families, and children
- Invest in facility upgrades
Sean de Four, the president and CEO of MiSide Community Impact Network, a nonprofit serving Detroit and Wayne County, said it’s important to invest in Head Start because when the programs help children and communities.
“Every one of the provisions in this legislation would improve not only our ability to serve the children and parents that we already do in Detroit, but would allow us to reach more families, strengthen the workforce, deepen the supports that children receive, and also improve the infrastructure in all of our facilities,” he said.
Other supporters said the legislation would help identify speech and language delays, hearing or vision concerns, social and emotional needs in young children, and spot early signs of learning differences.
The bill is the U.S. House's companion to legislation introduced in the Senate by independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Michigan Public's Zena Issa contributed reporting.
