Panic ensued in January when early federal budget drafts called for the end of Head Start – a national early childhood education program for low-income children and families launched by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 as
a part of his War on Poverty. During the weeks following the announcement, federal funds were frozen for programs across the nation including those in Oregon.
“When we heard Head Start was going to be eliminated, we got behind the National Head Start administration,” Nancy Perin, the Executive Director for Head Start in Oregon, recalled. “There was a letter to the President, and I don’t know how many hundreds of letters went in with that, and there were letters to Legislators.”
Three hundred thousand letters, according to an article published by Youth Today. And while that show of support apparently had the desired effect, with the latest draft of the budget showing Head Start flat funded at $12.27 billion – the same number as the previous year – those working for the organization continue to be concerned.
“We’re all about stability. We want to keep things stable for our kids,” Patrice Altenhofen, executive director of Family Building Blocks said. The organization serves Marion and Polk counties whose Early Head Start and Oregon Prenatal-Kindergarten program is similarly funded by a mixture of state and federal funds and thus similarly impacted. She was addressing the dysfunction that ensued once the funds were reinstated.
Because, while Head Start’s budget has not been altered, there will be no extra funding to match the rising costs of just about everything and the program directors’ access to the funding they do have has been difficult at best.
“Individual programs receive notice of award annually, so they know how many children they can serve and how much money they will get,” Perin said of the process. “Then they go through the Program Management System (PMS) to draw down funds for all their operating expenses. What has happened in Oregon with a few programs is that they’ve only been given six months of their funding.”
Adding to the chaos, on April 1 the Department of Health and Human Services unexpectedly closed five regional offices, including one in Seattle, which oversaw operations in Washington, Idaho, Alaska and Oregon.
“The regional office is now in Denver… the office of the West,” Perin said, listing 13 states along with the territories of Palau, Guam and Marieta as the new western region. “It’s new and they’re understaffed because now they’ve got the whole West Coast, and California is a huge state.”
It’s a situation that has only contributed to the worsening confusion over finances.
“We had a situation in April with the Southern Oregon Head Start. [The director] wasn’t able to get her money so she had to let her staff and parents know she was going to have to shut down in a week or so if the money didn’t come through,” Perin remembered.
And while in that instance, after receiving assistance from State Representatives, the Head Start did finally receive its funds, the situation did nothing but add to the feelings of dread employees were already experiencing.
“It’s nerve wracking,” Perin said. “They always seem to, at the 11th hour, get their money. It’s nerve wracking for the board, the staff, the parents and the children. We never know from one day to the next, one week to the next.”
Because even the PMS system itself has changed.
“There’s a new narrative requirement to get the funds,” Alyssa Chatterjee, director of the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care explained at a roundtable with Congresswoman Andrea Salinas on May 27.
“When DOGE [the Department of Government Efficiency] got involved, every time [they requested a draw-down] they would get an automated message asking for more justification for funds,” Perin described. “Within a day or two days they would get the draw-down request.”
It’s a process that is both stressful and inefficient, according to Altenhofen who said, “We have to be stewards of our funding and to see additional funds go to administration makes you uncomfortable.”
Both Family Building Blocks and Head Start are organizations whose primary goal is to get the most impact for the dollars they are provided. It’s in their mission statements to “provide high-quality, critical, and voluntary services at no cost.” And they have been doing it for 60 years.
“We just celebrated our 60th anniversary,” Perin said, referencing a State Proclamation she received from the Governor of Oregon on May 18 offering congratulations for the achievement of “helping to build a healthier, freer and fairer America” by aiding nearly 40 million children and families in “breaking the generational cycles of poverty.”
It’s an accomplishment Perin – who has worked as a director for Head Start for almost 20 years – is proud of and one she wishes more people understood.
“For what we’re funded for, it’s pretty phenomenal what we do,” she said. “We serve a lot of kids. And it’s more than just early childhood education, it’s a two-generation program. We don’t just get them ready for kindergarten, we make sure their dental care gets done, we make sure they get food. We help families establish goals and connect them with resources like SNAP. There’s a variety of things Head Start does beyond teaching them their numbers and colors. And we connect with them in prenatal – moms that are pregnant can apply. So, we serve that family for five or six years.”
And the outcome of that work has gotten a lot of positive press, most notably from James Heckman – an economist and Nobel Laureate – who, in 2013, after studying the efficacy of early childhood education programs, stated that programs like Head Start offer a 7 to 10 percent return on investment by decreasing the amount of spending needed later in a child’s life.
It’s a phenomenon nearly every member of the May roundtable spoke to having witnessed repeatedly.
“How many parents in my 20 years I’ve seen envision their dreams for education and then go on to success,” Traci Wimmer, a Family Building Blocks employee, said. “It’s the goals we set and the foundations we give them.”
It’s also the resources Family Building Blocks helps them access. Because for the majority of FBB families, food insecurity, access to healthcare and even stable housing are pressing issues.
“We know in Oregon a person is most likely to experience homelessness in their first year of life,” Chatterjee said, providing data that estimates 70 percent of the organization’s clientele is housing unstable.
With cuts to SNAP, Medicaid and Federal Housing on the horizon Perin fears those numbers will only get worse.
“A lot of our families work or go to school. Yes, they live in poverty, but they’re not families just sitting at home choosing to draw on these federally assisted programs. They are the working poor,” Perin said. “They make less than $30,000 [a year] to qualify [for Head Start]. That’s not a lot of money.”
So, to make ends meet they often rely on government aid and childcare from free or reduced-cost early childhood programs.
“And supporting the entire family is what really makes us different,” Stephanie Whetzel, a coordinator working with Head Start within the Salem Keizer School District, said.
It’s why the instability within the Head Start organization is so disquieting to those experiencing it – not just because of the effect program cuts will have on the children they serve, but because of the lasting effects those cuts will have on entire families and communities.
“So, how do you stay optimistic?” Congresswoman Salinas asked after hearing from each of the representatives at the meeting.
“We look for the bright spots when things get hard,” Whetzel replied.
Those positives included the state’s continued support of early childhood programs, including the provision of 60 percent of those Head Start and FBB’s funding.
“Oregon is a leader in state investments in Head Start,” Chatterjee confirmed – to the tune of $380 million a biennium.
But even that funding is somewhat precarious owing to the proposed cuts to state funds.
“Has Head Start been cut? No,” Perin verified. “But we’ve got our eye on everything.”
And she is calling for others to join her.
“Go to www.nhsa.org there’s a call to action… and in that is a template if you want to send a letter to the president… There’s a link to contact your congress-person. There are templated letters.”
Because although the early childhood programs have thus far been spared, the fight for funding that equals the growing demand remains. That battle is a worthy one according to Congresswoman Salinas.
“You don’t just open doors to children but to the entire family… That’s what the United States is all about…It’s the land of opportunity… We don’t close doors to opportunity, we open them… That’s the American dream right there,” she said.
