The Trump administration on Thursday proposed significant changes to Head Start, the nation’s early education program for children from low-income families. The move would diminish the program’s federal standards and give states and parents more control.
“We have 1,600 Head Start providers across the country,” Alex Adams, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ assistant secretary for family support, said in a call with reporters. “And one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington cannot fully account for the realities facing these 1,600 grantees.”
Head Start not only provides preschool and childcare, but also meals and support services for qualifying families. It now serves more than 700,000 kids each year from birth to age 5.
