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The Trump administration in August proposed a sweeping overhaul of the federal Head Start program, which provides education, health, social and family support services to more than 700,000 low-income
children nationwide through local grantees.
The administration claims the proposed changes -- to rules about staffing, family engagement, discipline, instructional language and more -- would give local programs more flexibility, reduce administrative costs and allow Head Start to serve more children.
However, Head Start advocates and local grantees have expressed concerns about what has been proposed, which they said would cut class sizes, hours of operation and administrative costs while increasing caseloads for family advocates, who work with and support local families.
Typically, there is only one Head Start grantee in each county, with the exception being if there was an Early Head Start program for children from birth to 3 years old. That program could be run by a different agency than a county's local Head Start preschool program, which serves children ages 3 to 5.
There isn't an Early Head Start program in Blair County, according to Jennifer Neely, executive director for Child Advocates of Blair County -- the organization that oversees both Blair's federal Head Start and state Pre-K Counts programs.
Child Advocates of Blair County serves 320 children across 20 classrooms through Head Start, Neely said, noting the organization serves another 90 students across five additional classrooms through Pre-K Counts.
There are 20 Head Start classrooms across 10 centers in Blair County, and hours of operation depend on the particular center location but fit within a six-hour timeframe between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Neely said.
For example, at the county's biggest center, in Altoona's Greenwood section, there are nine total classrooms that run at separate times, Neely said, noting Head Start also provides transportation services for students and at least two meals -- breakfast and lunch -- per day.
Three classrooms in Greenwood begin at 8 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. Another set of three classrooms operate between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., while the remaining three run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Neely said.
In addition to the preschool classroom experience, Head Start has family advocates who provide comprehensive services, Neely said, adding family advocates meet regularly throughout the year with families to provide "a whole variety of support."
"They are working through the family partnership process to identify family goals and then support them in attaining those goals through breaking them down into manageable steps, coaching and support," Neely said.
Goals can be varied but can include things like wanting to move into a different living situation or establishing medical providers for their children, if families are new to the area, Neely said.
"Family advocates will work with them step-by-step to achieve that goal," Neely said, noting they also provide bimonthly parent education.
Concerns raised
In 1965, the federal Head Start Act established the program's performance standards, allowing the Administration for Children and Families to regulate how local grantees run the program, Neely said.
"These regulations govern every part of our program, and we refer back to them constantly to make sure that we are meeting that gold standard in the delivery of services that we provide," Neely said, adding the Administration for Children and Families has proposed reducing those regulations by about 90%.
While there are likely some "smart adjustments" that could be made, a 90% widescale reduction in the program's performance standards feels "like it would not be the right thing for Head Start programs" overall and for Blair's program specifically, Neely said.
Although the Administration for Children and Families claims the changes would create more flexibility for programs, Neely said she's nervous that the quality of Blair's Head Start program could be reduced if the regulations are removed.
For instance, there are changes proposed that would affect the program's class size and length of day, she said.
Right now, all of the county's Head Start preschool classrooms operate for six hours a day Monday through Friday, following a typical school calendar -- starting in late August and ending in late May or early June, Neely said.
"Most of our families in our programs are working parents, and they rely on our program for childcare as well as all of the other services," Neely said, adding the new regulations would peel back their classroom time to three hours a day.
"That's a significant concern for us in terms of being able to attract and enroll families who can't come up with other options for the other half of the working day," Neely said, adding she's concerned about the implications to early intervention services for children and increasing caseloads for family advocates, among other things.
A significant concern for Child Advocates of Blair County, Neely said, is a proposed change to the cap in administrative costs from 15% to 5% because it would impact the agency's ability to operate its Head Start program.
For example, within their education department, they have educational instructional coaches who work to improve the staff's teaching skills in the classroom, Neely said, adding those coaches would no longer be required as part of what Head Start offers under the proposed regulation changes.
Child Advocates of Blair County employs 130 total staff across both programs, of which 115 are Head Start staff members, Neely said, noting about 30% of those employees are current or former Head Start parents.
"We are a great place for parents to begin a new career, and then we offer training and career advancement in our organization," Neely said. "We have staff who started as parents, who became volunteers, classroom substitutes, classroom aids and worked their way up to becoming classroom teachers. We think that's a really important part of the story as well."
NPRM process
Any proposed changes would have to go through a notice of proposed rule making, in which an organization -- such as the Administration for Children and Families -- puts out a notice stating it intends to make proposed changes.
With the current Head Start situation, that proposal was published Aug. 7. A 60-day public comment period was given, which ended Oct. 6.
The next step in the process, the Administration for Children and Families has to review and address the more than 40,000 comments received and then publish a final rule. The timing of the final rule is unclear, but it often takes months as legal challenges can delay the process.
"We don't know when that's going to happen," Neely said of the final rule being published.
The last time Head Start performance standards were updated was in 2024, and in that instance, it took somewhere between four and six months for the proposed changes to go through the process, Neely said.
According to Neely, different advocacy groups anticipate that it will be a fairly quick turnaround this time, possibly early into the new year.
"But, again, we don't know that," Neely said.
Once the final rule is published, each change would have its own implementation timeline, meaning they won't all go into effect at once, Neely said, pointing out that some of the changes in 2024 went into effect after 30 days, while others took years.
"I don't think anyone expects that this administration will build out a timeline that far, but again, this is just people who are trying to make their best educated guess based on patterns from the administration and past experiences," Neely said.
Huntingdon provider folds
In a press release Thursday, the Huntingdon County Child and Adult Development Corp. board of directors announced they were shutting down the county's Head Start and early childhood education programs.
The full list includes Early Head Start, Head Start Preschool, Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program, which is a state-funded initiative designed to enhance federal services.
"Stepping away from these programs was not an easy decision," officials said in an unsigned statement, citing rising operating costs, the need to provide competitive wages, staff shortages resulting in overtime, "a tremendous rise" in healthcare costs and transportation costs, as well as losses from childcare services over the last five years for what led up to the difficult decision.
"HCCADC deeply regrets having to make this decision, and we know this brings about hardship for many of our families," the statement read.
Officials said they are committed to providing an easy transition to any organization or provider appointed by the state to continue those services.
The corporation's board said it urges families to access their family handbook given to them at the time their children were enrolled to find other services available within their communities. Families may also reach out to the local Early Learning Resource Center at 1-800-323-9997. An authorized family member can obtain a child's records by sending an email to childrecords@hccadc.org.
The board said the adult education; employment, advancement and retention network; and family literacy programs are still operational.
The board acknowledged the retirement of the corporation's former financial director and announced it has terminated the services of its executive director.
Bedford and Fulton counties
Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries provides Head Start programs in Bedford and Fulton counties, in addition to an Early Head Start program in Bedford County, according to Andrea Schurr, the organization's community and public relations manager.
"Our organization, ALSM, provides programs, services and senior living communities throughout multiple counties and has for almost 80 years," Schurr said in an email, adding the Hollidaysburg-
based organization provides other services throughout Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Fulton and Somerset counties.
Head Start, in particular, partners with families to support school readiness through early education, health services, family engagement and individualized support, Schurr said, adding classroom hours vary throughout the county.
Some classes -- ranging in hours from a half-day to a full day -- meet three days per week, while others meet four or five days, according to Schurr, who said they complete community needs assessments to determine the number of hours and days that will best serve families.
"Our goal is to help children succeed while connecting families with resources," Schurr said.
When asked whether the proposed changes would help or hurt their Head Start program, Schurr said, "We will adapt to the proposed changes and develop plans accordingly, while meeting Head Start standards by delivering high-quality education, family support, health services and resources that help families achieve their goals."
Families can self-enroll in the Bedford/Fulton County Head Start program by applying online at www.alsm.org/child-and-family-care/head-start-and-early-head-start/ or by calling 814-624-3200.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.