OR Head Start - Fight Crime: Invest in Kids

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for Head Start teachers, plus additionalexpenses to help pay the costs of teachersgetting their college degrees. 28 The Center forLaw and Social Policy estimates that the costsof increasing Head Start teacher education andcompensation nationally as called for in currentfederal reauthorization proposals will beapproximately $2.7 billion to $3.4 billion oversix years. 29Oregon Head Start PrekindergartenSince 1988, Head Start services in Oregon havebeen funded by both the federal Head Startprogram and state dollars. Oregon Head StartPrekindergarten combines state and federalfunding into one seamless program, andrequires the same rigorous federal Head StartPerformance Standards that help ensure qualityservices for children and families. OregonHead Start uses the federal eligibilityrequirements, requiring 90 percent of childrenserved to have family incomes at or below thefederal poverty guidelines, $16,090 for a familyof three. 30 Oregon modifies this requirementslightly for state-funded Head Start children,allowing as many as 20 percent of childrenenrolled to have family incomes above thefederal poverty guidelines. In addition toincome, local programs use locally developedpriority rating systems that include other familyrisk factors beyond income level (such asreferrals from pediatricians, referrals for parentalcohol and drug addiction, and child abuseand neglect) to determine enrollment prioritiesamong eligible children.From 2003 to 2005, Oregon invested$53,582,328 in state dollars for Head Start inaddition to the federal Head Start programfunds of $99 million to serve Oregon’s needychildren over the two-year period, totaling$152,582,328. 31Between 2003 and 2005, Oregon Head StartPrekindergarten served 19,094 children in 658classrooms in all 36 counties. The programserves children from a variety of racial andethnic backgrounds, reflecting statedemographic characteristics. In the 2003-2004school year, 48 percent of enrolled childrenwere white, 31 percent were Latino, sevenpercent were African-American, seven percentwere biracial or multiracial, two percent wereAmerican Indian or Alaska Native, and twopercent were Asian. 32 Seventy-one percent ofchildren in Oregon Head Start Prekindergartenspeak English as their dominant language, 24percent speak Spanish, two percent speakAsian languages, and two percent speak otherlanguages as their dominant language. 33About three-fourths (74 percent) of OregonHead Start Prekindergarten families areemployed full-time or part-time, and another15 percent participate in job training programsor attend school. 34Like Head Start programs around the country,Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten specializes inserving children with disabilities. Federal andstate program rules require that at least 10percent of the total enrollment be reserved forchildren with disabilities. Oregon exceeds thisrequirement and dedicates approximately 16percent of its enrollment for children withdisabilities. 35Providing Head Start programs in rural areascan be a challenge due to the low populationdensity and geographic dispersion of familiesthroughout rural areas. Despite these inherentchallenges, Oregon Head Start Prekindergartenprovides Head Start services in ruralcommunities, serving every county in thestate. 36 Since local programs create their ownbudgets, some programs in rural communitiesaddress the geographic dispersion of familiesby devoting more resources to extensivetransportation services to bus children fromoutlying areas to the program.The federally funded Migrant Head Startprogram serves communities with largeconcentrations of migrant farm worker families.According to Dell Ford of the Oregon Head6 FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS OREGON
Start Collaboration Office, there is one MigrantHead Start grantee in Oregon, the OregonChild Development Coalition (OCDC), whichoperates 11 program sites across the state.OCDC provides services to 2,469 childrenranging in age from birth to five. The MigrantHead Start program [or OCDC?] also operatestwo state-funded Head Start programs forchildren who meet the general Head Starteligibility criteria. 37The federally funded Tribal Head Start programserves American Indian children. There arenine recognized tribes in Oregon, five of whichhave federal Head Start funding and provideservices to 304 children. Additionally, theGrande Ronde Tribe allocates their tribal fundsto serve an additional 27 children. 38Despite Head Start’s Benefits, 40Percent of Eligible Children in Oregonare Not ServedDespite the school success and crimeprevention benefits of Head Start for at-riskchildren, only 60 percent of eligible children inOregon participate in the program. Last year,approximately 9,600 of Oregon’s children wereserved by Head Start programs. 39 Of theestimated 16,000 children eligible for HeadStart, 6,400 children—or 40 percent—did notreceive the program in 2005 due to lack ofOregon Head Start Prekindergarten Servicesand Unmet Need in 2005Children Eligible(estimate)Children Served(federal and state funded)Eligible Children NotServedTotal Children(ages 3 and 4)Number Percent16,000 100%9,6006,40060%40%Soiurce: Oregon Department of Education, 2005.funding. 40State agency officials report that local HeadStart programs are at full capacity, andprograms have waiting lists in all but one ofthe communities served. For example, in eastMultnomah County, the Mt. Hood CommunityCollege Head Start Prekindergarten programhas over 300 eligible children on the waitinglist to receive Head Start. 41 According toOregon state government agency officials,there is a demand for additional Head Startservices. If Oregon had additional federalHead Start or state pre-kindergarten funds,Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten could servemore children.Recent federal budget cuts put further stress onthe capacity of Oregon Head StartPrekindergarten to serve eligible needy children.The federal portion of Oregon’s Head Startprogram is subject to a one percent budget cut,retroactive to October 2005. Oregon HeadStart Prekindergarten agency officials estimatethat to implement this budget cut,approximately 200 children could be cut fromthe program. 42 In the President’s budgetproposal for Fiscal Year 2007, Head Start willreceive no additional funding, which will resultin Oregon serving even fewer children due toinflation. 43Fully Funding High-Quality HeadStart Can Prevent As Many As 500Children Each Year From BecomingFuture Criminals in OregonAs described earlier in this report, researchshows that high-quality early childhoodeducation programs such as Head Startcan help at-risk children get on tracktowards being productive citizens andprevent them from becoming futurecriminals. Given this compelling crimeprevention evidence, providing Head Startto all eligible children would benefit thecitizens of Oregon by helping thesechildren succeed in school and in life andHead Start Cuts Crime in Oregon7
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Page 12 and 13: APPENDIX AEstimate of Head Start’
Page 14 and 15: Assembly.34 2003- 2004 enrollment d
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