for <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> teachers, plus additionalexpenses to help pay the costs of teachersgett<strong>in</strong>g their college degrees. 28 The Center forLaw and Social Policy estimates that the costsof <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> teacher education andcompensation nationally as called for <strong>in</strong> currentfederal reauthorization proposals will beapproximately $2.7 billion to $3.4 billion oversix years. 29Oregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergartenS<strong>in</strong>ce 1988, <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> services <strong>in</strong> Oregon havebeen funded by both the federal <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>program and state dollars. Oregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten comb<strong>in</strong>es state and federalfund<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to one seamless program, andrequires the same rigorous federal <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>Performance Standards that help ensure qualityservices for children and families. Oregon<strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> uses the federal eligibilityrequirements, requir<strong>in</strong>g 90 percent of childrenserved to have family <strong>in</strong>comes at or below thefederal poverty guidel<strong>in</strong>es, $16,090 for a familyof three. 30 Oregon modifies this requirementslightly for state-funded <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> children,allow<strong>in</strong>g as many as 20 percent of childrenenrolled to have family <strong>in</strong>comes above thefederal poverty guidel<strong>in</strong>es. In addition to<strong>in</strong>come, local programs use locally developedpriority rat<strong>in</strong>g systems that <strong>in</strong>clude other familyrisk factors beyond <strong>in</strong>come level (such asreferrals from pediatricians, referrals for parentalcohol and drug addiction, and child abuseand neglect) to determ<strong>in</strong>e enrollment prioritiesamong eligible children.From 2003 to 2005, Oregon <strong>in</strong>vested$53,582,328 <strong>in</strong> state dollars for <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> <strong>in</strong>addition to the federal <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> programfunds of $99 million to serve Oregon’s needychildren over the two-year period, total<strong>in</strong>g$152,582,328. 31Between 2003 and 2005, Oregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten served 19,094 children <strong>in</strong> 658classrooms <strong>in</strong> all 36 counties. The programserves children from a variety of racial andethnic backgrounds, reflect<strong>in</strong>g statedemographic characteristics. In the 2003-2004school year, 48 percent of enrolled childrenwere white, 31 percent were Lat<strong>in</strong>o, 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 <strong>in</strong> Oregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergartenspeak English as their dom<strong>in</strong>ant language, 24percent speak Spanish, two percent speakAsian languages, and two percent speak otherlanguages as their dom<strong>in</strong>ant language. 33About three-fourths (74 percent) of Oregon<strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten families areemployed full-time or part-time, and another15 percent participate <strong>in</strong> job tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g programsor attend school. 34Like <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> programs around the country,Oregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten specializes <strong>in</strong>serv<strong>in</strong>g 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. 35Provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> programs <strong>in</strong> rural areascan be a challenge due to the low populationdensity and geographic dispersion of familiesthroughout rural areas. Despite these <strong>in</strong>herentchallenges, Oregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergartenprovides <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> services <strong>in</strong> ruralcommunities, serv<strong>in</strong>g every county <strong>in</strong> thestate. 36 S<strong>in</strong>ce local programs create their ownbudgets, some programs <strong>in</strong> rural communitiesaddress the geographic dispersion of familiesby devot<strong>in</strong>g more resources to extensivetransportation services to bus children fromoutly<strong>in</strong>g areas to the program.The federally funded Migrant <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>program serves communities with largeconcentrations of migrant farm worker families.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Dell Ford of the Oregon <strong>Head</strong>6 FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS <strong>OR</strong>EGON
<strong>Start</strong> Collaboration Office, there is one Migrant<strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> grantee <strong>in</strong> Oregon, the OregonChild Development Coalition (OCDC), whichoperates 11 program sites across the state.OCDC provides services to 2,469 childrenrang<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> age from birth to five. The Migrant<strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> program [or OCDC?] also operatestwo state-funded <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> programs forchildren who meet the general <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>eligibility criteria. 37The federally funded Tribal <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> programserves American Indian children. There aren<strong>in</strong>e recognized tribes <strong>in</strong> Oregon, five of whichhave federal <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> fund<strong>in</strong>g and provideservices to 304 children. Additionally, theGrande Ronde Tribe allocates their tribal fundsto serve an additional 27 children. 38Despite <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>’s Benefits, 40Percent of Eligible Children <strong>in</strong> Oregonare Not ServedDespite the school success and crimeprevention benefits of <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> for at-riskchildren, only 60 percent of eligible children <strong>in</strong>Oregon participate <strong>in</strong> the program. Last year,approximately 9,600 of Oregon’s children wereserved by <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> programs. 39 Of theestimated 16,000 children eligible for <strong>Head</strong><strong>Start</strong>, 6,400 children—or 40 percent—did notreceive the program <strong>in</strong> 2005 due to lack ofOregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten Servicesand Unmet Need <strong>in</strong> 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.fund<strong>in</strong>g. 40State agency officials report that local <strong>Head</strong><strong>Start</strong> programs are at full capacity, andprograms have wait<strong>in</strong>g lists <strong>in</strong> all but one ofthe communities served. For example, <strong>in</strong> eastMultnomah County, the Mt. Hood CommunityCollege <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten programhas over 300 eligible children on the wait<strong>in</strong>glist to receive <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>. 41 Accord<strong>in</strong>g toOregon state government agency officials,there is a demand for additional <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>services. If Oregon had additional federal<strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> or state pre-k<strong>in</strong>dergarten funds,Oregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten could servemore children.Recent federal budget cuts put further stress onthe capacity of Oregon <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten to serve eligible needy children.The federal portion of Oregon’s <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>program is subject to a one percent budget cut,retroactive to October 2005. Oregon <strong>Head</strong><strong>Start</strong> Prek<strong>in</strong>dergarten 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, <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> willreceive no additional fund<strong>in</strong>g, which will result<strong>in</strong> Oregon serv<strong>in</strong>g even fewer children due to<strong>in</strong>flation. 43Fully Fund<strong>in</strong>g High-Quality <strong>Head</strong><strong>Start</strong> Can Prevent As Many As 500Children Each Year From Becom<strong>in</strong>gFuture Crim<strong>in</strong>als <strong>in</strong> OregonAs described earlier <strong>in</strong> this report, researchshows that high-quality early childhoodeducation programs such as <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>can help at-risk children get on tracktowards be<strong>in</strong>g productive citizens andprevent them from becom<strong>in</strong>g futurecrim<strong>in</strong>als. Given this compell<strong>in</strong>g crimeprevention evidence, provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong>to all eligible children would benefit thecitizens of Oregon by help<strong>in</strong>g thesechildren succeed <strong>in</strong> school and <strong>in</strong> life and<strong>Head</strong> <strong>Start</strong> Cuts <strong>Crime</strong> <strong>in</strong> Oregon7