HEAD START LETTER TO THE HOUSE
May 2, 2007
Dear Representative:
FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS is a national anti-crime organization of more than 3,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys, and victims of violence who have come together to take a
hard-nosed look at the research about what really works to keep kids from becoming criminals. The law enforcement leaders of FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS know from the front lines - and
the research - that Head Start helps kids get a good start in life so that they grow up to become responsible citizens instead of criminals. We are pleased that today the House will
consider a strong Head Start reauthorization bill, the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 (H.R. 1429). We urge you to support this important legislation and reject any efforts
that would impede the bill's progress toward enactment.
The research is clear that quality early childhood education for at-risk kids prevents crime. For example:
- A study of Chicago's Child-Parent Centers, a government-funded early childhood program that has served over 100,000
disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds, showed that children who did not participate in the program were 70% more likely to be arrested for a violent
crime by age 18.
- A study of the High/Scope Perry Preschool program showed that at-risk children randomly assigned to a control group were five times more likely to have become chronic
lawbreakers by age 27 than those assigned to attend the program.
- A study that followed more than 18,000 individuals for over 25 years found that Head Start students were 8.5% less likely to grow up to be charged or convicted of a crime than their
siblings who had attended other preschool programs.
The maximum crime reduction impact - and many other benefits of Head Start - can occur only when programs are comprehensive and of the highest quality. We are pleased that the bill maintains
current Head Start performance standards (e.g., class-size, teacher-student ratio, social/emotional development components, comprehensive services including parental involvement and coaching,
etc.), and improves quality by requiring 50 percent of lead classroom teachers to have a bachelor's degree within six years. Further, we commend the bill's bipartisan authors for including
an expansion of Early Head Start, which works with children and parents during the critical first years of a child's life and brain development. Finally, the bill promotes greater
coordination with other early care and education programs and strengthens Head Start program accountability.
Unfortunately, Representative Price's proposed amendment to allow eight "state demonstration" grants would endanger Head Start's quality by enabling those states to disregard, at least
in part, Head Start's high performance standards. Research shows that the quality of state-funded early education and care programs is extremely mixed. In fact, few states' early
education standards are as high as Head Start performance standards in all areas. The Price amendment would require state-administered programs to "generally meet or exceed" Head Start
standards. However, this requirement in no way ensures that state programs must in fact meet all of Head Start's time-tested performance standards. The risk of quality deterioration
is even greater since, under the amendment, state plans would be "deemed approved" if the Secretary fails to act. We urge you to reject Representative Price's "state demonstration"
grants amendment.
We urge you to support this bill and reject amendments that would undermine the quality of Head Start or the broad bipartisan support the bill currently enjoys. We look forward to working with you
to achieve enactment of a strong Head Start reauthorization bill that can save lives and save money. The result will be generations of disadvantaged children progressing toward school success and
graduation rather than later arrest and incarceration.
Sincerely,
David S. Kass
President
Miriam A. Rollin
Vice President
1212 New York Ave. NW, Suite 300