Thursday, May 01, 2003

Shifting Head Start could cost children services, officials say (North Carolina)
Story in the Courier-Times - "If Head Start is taken from beneath the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and placed under the Department of Education, as has been proposed by the Bush administration, children and families could suffer, according to those who run the preschool program for at risk children. Carla Oakley, director of Person County's Head Start program and Earl Bradsher Preschool Center, said the 111 three- and four-year-olds in her program could lose the "comprehensive services" she and her staff are now able to offer. Those services include vision, dental, hearing, speech and mental health screenings that often pinpoint problems that could interfere with learning when affected children begin school."