Economy blamed for upturn in list to join by Mike Wowk, Detroit News, January 19, 2003
Clinton Township: Jasmine Hubbard, 4, spends many of her days home with
Dad. But that's not where her parents want her to be.
The family's income qualifies Jasmine for Head Start, the federally-funded
preschool program. But Jasmine is on a waiting list because every
available seat in Macomb County's Head Start program is taken.
Hundreds of other lower income children throughout Metro Detroit -- and
thousands more nationwide -- remain on Head Start waiting lists, even
though the federal government every year keeps increasing the budget of
the popular and now $6.5 billion program.
"They told me to call again next week," said Jay Hubbard, 31, who watches
his daughter every weekday before he goes to work. In the evenings, when
she's home from work, Mom is the care-taker.
Hubbard appreciates what Head Start could do for his family.
"It's a good program," Hubbard said. "My two sons went through it. They're
in (elementary) school now and they're getting A's and B's."
The federal government provides enough cash to put 842 Macomb County
preschoolers into Head Start classrooms scattered from Warren to Armada.
Another 134 Macomb kids, including Jasmine Hubbard, are on waiting lists.
"We can take 3- and 4-year-olds, but we're giving priority to 4-year-olds
now because of the waiting list," said Trish Bernard, Macomb County's Head
Start director.
Administrators of other Head Start programs throughout Metro Detroit are
also running longer waiting lists this year. Some have waiting lists for
the first time.
"Our waiting list has increased," said Lynn Crotty, who heads Oakland
County's Head Start program. "And there's been a shift away from the
southern end of the county to the north end. We're definitely up (in
enrollments) in our Pontiac classrooms."
Crotty blames a downturn in the economy for the upturn in Head Start
applications.
"I've seen one estimate that Head Start is only about 50 percent funded
(compared to the numbers of eligible children)," she said.
In Detroit, nearly 2,000 preschoolers are waiting for seats in Head Start
classrooms to become vacant. The Detroit program this year enrolls 7,497
youngsters.
"Hopefully, we can find places this year for at least half (of those on
waiting lists)," said Virginia Saleem, who heads a Head Start program run
by the city of Detroit.
She blames the economy for partially increasing her waiting list this
year.
"But we also did a media blitz (late last year) with billboards, bus ads
and radio and TV spots about Head Start," Saleem said.
Even rural and suburban-affluent Livingston County now has a waiting list
for its Head Start program, which this year has enrolled 317 preschoolers.
Another 43 are waiting for seats to become vacant.
"Typically, we don't have a waiting list, but it's been creeping up every
year," said Jean Garratt, director of the Livingston's Head Start. "You
have to look at the economy."
Wayne County government also operates a Head Start program for its
communities outside of Detroit. Its officials declined to return repeated
telephone calls from The Detroit News over a week's time.
Head Start was founded in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson's war
on poverty. It was a summer-only program that first year, and 561,000
youngsters nationwide were enrolled at a cost of $96.4 million.
Over the years, Head Start has been embraced by every succeeding
presidential administration, regardless of party. More than 19 million
children have gone through the program in the last 38 years.
President George W. Bush has named Head Start one of the components of his
No Child Left Behind legislative initiative and has recommended budget
increases for the program.
Its few critics have said teacher quality in Head Start programs can be
spotty. Some say Head Start should emphasize early literacy education;
others would emphasize socialization skills.
But several long-range studies of Head Start graduates indicate that a
good preschool program works.
In "Into Adulthood: A Study of the Effects of Head Start" (High/Scope
Press), a team of researchers studied 622 young adults in Colorado and
Florida who had been born into poverty. Some had participated in Head
Start programs 17 years earlier, and some had not.
The study found that the Head Start veterans were more likely to have
graduated from high school (95 percent versus 81 percent) and were less
likely (5 percent versus 15 percent) to have been arrested.
Sherry Chambers of Clinton Township is convinced without reading the
studies. Her daughter, Kendra, 4, attends a Head Start class in Mount
Clemens' Macomb Elementary School.
"The kids learn a lot here, especially in social skills," Chambers said.
"All (of the eligible kids) should be able to come here."
