National LCLAA 2008 Membership Convention

8. Resolution: Secure the Nation's Head Start Program

WHEREAS; Since 1965, Head Start and now Early Head Start have provided comprehensive and successful

services for 25 million low-income families in this nation's rural and metropolitan communities, encouraging

children to develop and family values to advance; and

WHEREAS; Head Start is America at its best, delivering medical, dental, mental health screening, parenting

resources and other social and health services in addition to necessary early education services, which prepares

these children to compete with their peers with more resources; and

WHEREAS; Head start's philosophy is to develop the "whole Child" using an effective curriculum that

reflects young children's stages of development: Social, Emotional, intellectual, physical Cognitive and

language development. Head Start Children who enters the public school system, by the spring of their

Kindergarten year exhibits a higher level of development than other preschool children in the cited studies; and

WHEREAS; Studies have indicated that the Head Start investment pays off society by its children's' increased

earnings, employment and family stability ever the past forty years. For every dollar spent on Head Start

studies have demonstrated that society receives nearly nine dollars in benefits. Head Start children are less

likely to have been charged with a crime than their siblings, who did not participate in the training; and

WHEREAS; Congress and the Executive Branch now have a shortfall of $1 billion in Head Start funding since

2002. In Head Start Funding FY 2008 there is an $11 million cut which means no COLA for Head Start

workers, no Quality funding and no expansion of this needed program. This program should not suffer in a year

that Congress may approve some $20 billion in Appropriations Earmarks; and

WHEREAS; The President's budget request for fiscal year 2008 inadequate to cope with increased health care

insurance premium increases, rent hikes, gasoline and heating fuel costs and the expensive unfounded

mandates, including new transportation rules and testing requirements; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED; That LCLAA and its affiliates is calling for at least $1.072 billion to be

added to Head Start in fiscal year 2008 to halt the decline in services in local Head Start Programs that will

force many of them to be in non-compliance with federal performance standards. Children advocates fear that

many of these comprehensive services may never be restored if cut due to a lack of financial resources and

inflation-induced cuts; and

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED; That LCLAA and its affiliates acknowledge that only if annual COLA

increases and Quality funding are considered each year, the program and staffing will suffer from quality

retention; and

BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED; That Congress rejects all proposals of unfunded mandates involving Head

Start which will force dedicated and experienced staff to leave the program, caused unnecessary disruption of

services both in rural and metropolitan communities and is likely to have an affect on the young children and

the families they service; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED; Congress appropriates $360 million per year for five years to make up for

the shortfalls that Head Start and Early Head Start has suffered under the Bush Administration; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED; That LCLAA and its affiliates prepare a comprehensive fight-back program

to protect Head Start in general and its organized Head Start members at the local level immediately which will

combine the resources of both the International and affiliates to organize support for Head Start in the

communities with parents, houses of worship, advocates, elected officials and others and on the national level