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Last week, the federal government proposed sweeping changes to Head Start, the program that provides high-quality early childhood, health, and family support services across the country. As the proud parent of three Head Start graduates, I know the power of Head Start. It transforms families.
This proposal would significantly change the Head Start program that helped my children start school successfully. Quality standards that require small class sizes and trained teachers and a positive learning environment would be removed. Services like health and dental care, parent engagement, and developmental screenings would be weakened or removed altogether.
The proposal acknowledges the impact on families stating “in communities where Head Start has historically played a substantial role in facilitating health care access, reductions in program-facilitated services could have implications for families” and also “families may need to secure alternative child care arrangements or may miss work time.”
They are referring to families like mine. I drove 45 minutes each way so my children could attend Head Start. If not for Head Start, getting services like dental check ups for my children would require driving hours away.
Right now this is just a proposal, but these changes could go into effect within months, impacting the more than 2,700 children across Maine who benefit from Head Start.
I urge Sen. Susan Collins to speak up against these damaging changes to Head Start. If they are allowed to go into effect, families like mine across rural Maine could lose critical access to health care and child care.
Melissa Harding
Jackson