Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Enrollment of the Head Start Reauthorization Bill

December 5, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today issued the following statement on the sending of the Head Start Bill to the President’s desk for signature. Congress recently passed the “Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007” to reauthorize the Head Start Act.

“I am so pleased that we are finally on the verge of reauthorizing the Head Start program. The new Democratic Congress stood up for low income children and families and made good on our commitment to break the logjam standing in the way of reauthorizing Head Start since 2003. I urge the President to do the right thing for Head Start children and families and sign this bill into law without delay.

For more than 40 years, Head Start has provided comprehensive services to low income families – health, nutrition, academic skills, family literacy, and more – ensuring children learn the cognitive, social, emotional, and academic skills they need to succeed in kindergarten and later in life. In New York, almost 50,000 families benefit from the services provided through Head Start.

This bill strengthens Head Start and helps local programs provide needed services in the face of rising costs and inflation. This much needed increase in funding and eligibility requirements will finally give Head Start agencies the resources they need to allow more children to enroll and benefit from these early childhood services, while improving quality service levels and providing for the necessary cost of living increase for teachers. The bill also strengthens teacher quality and training and ensures parents’ voices are heard in Head Start’s daily operations.

This Congress has also reaffirmed its commitment to infants and toddlers by doubling Early Head Start, a program created under the Clinton Administration to reach children from birth to age three. This increase will ensure that more children in these critical years of development will have access to the valuable services provided by Early Head Start centers all across the nation.

I’m also pleased this bill finally suspends the National Reporting System (NRS) until a better tool can be developed to fairly measure children enrolled in the program and I look forward to the National Academy of Sciences’ recommendations on an appropriate assessment for young children.

This reauthorization is an investment in our future and a true victory for our neediest children and the Head Start community that serves them.”

Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton