(WASHINGTON, DC) – Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District – Kansas) will vote today against H.R. 2210, a measure that would undermine Head Start early education programs in Kansas and across the country.

“Head Start is a tremendously successful program that starts children on the right track to a bright future. Kansas educators tell me that they would change only one thing about the program—help it serve more children in our area. This bill would not only reduce services, but it would also create another burden for states already operating in the red,” Moore said.

Head Start programs provide early educational experiences and comprehensive child and family services to low-income families with children who have not yet entered kindergarten. In the Third District, 1,807 children are enrolled in 38 different Head Start programs. Of these children, 92 percent live in poverty.

Head Start currently provides for the vital needs of these children in Kansas: 77 percent receive basic health care and 76 percent have dental coverage. These services have been instrumental in assuring proper immunizations and basic health check-ups for kids.

“Our program in Kansas City works cooperatively with other agencies to assure that children and families are successful in meeting Head Start goals. We use a system of accountability to track our efforts, document best practices, and assure smooth transitions for children while preventing duplication of services. I have a number of serious concerns about this legislation, and I’m pleased that Congressman Moore has been responsive and taken the time to see our hard work first-hand,” said Martha Staker, who runs Project Eagle, a Head Start program in northeastern Wyandotte County.

H.R. 2210 would replace federal grants provided directly to community organizations with state controlled block grants, which would eliminate the performance standards key to Head Start’s success and potentially disrupt services for current participants. By giving states control of Head Start funding, they may be tempted to use block grant dollars to compensate for a lack of funding in other educational programs.

On July 9, 2003, The Kansas City Star Editorial Board voiced their opposition to H.R. 2210: “The proposal must be stopped before it wrecks one of the federal government's best programs for children…. Let's not fix something that isn't broken.”

“This bill is the wrong approach to Head Start. Block grants to states won’t ensure that children get the basic medical coverage they need, and we can’t allow these kids to slip through the cracks. Rather than making a great program like Head Start work even harder for funding, Congress should be rewarding their excellence in turning around the lives of Kansas kids,” Moore said.

On a national level, Head Start serves over 900,000 children through 2,600 local programs.