Funding For City's Head Start Programs In Jeopardy

By: Lindsey Christ

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For almost 50 years, the city has relied on federal funding for Head Start prekindergarten programs, but federal officials now say problems with how the city has managed Head Start may keep it from getting funded next year. NY1's Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

Tens of thousands of the city's youngest and most at-risk children attend Head Start programs every year. The federally-funded prekindergarten is designed to boost learning and development before kids even get to school and provide free, high quality childcare for low-income families.

However, 250 of the city's Head Start programs may now be at risk.

The bulk of the city's Head Start money goes to the Administration for Children's Services, which then distributes it among 250 individual programs. But now ACS has landed on the federal government's first-ever list of substandard Head Start programs. That means ACS will have to re-apply for its $190 million grant.

“They have a whole vision and a model for how to deliver quality early childhood to low income kids. Without Head Start funds, that whole thing falls apart and thousands and thousands of kids would lose an opportunity to have quality care,” said Nancy Wackstein of United Neighborhood Houses.

ACS is one of 132 agencies across the country that could lose Head Start funding. The news comes just days after the state lost a different federal competition that would have brought in $100 million in extra early childhood funds. Both are part of the Obama administration's effort to increase the quality of prekindergarten education.

According to a letter from the feds, the city's Administration for Children's Services is in trouble for not having the proper internal controls and financial management systems. Now ACS will have to prove why it should get the Head Start money. In a statement, the agency said "We are proud of the excellent Head Start services that we provide to children and look forward to being successful in the process."

Ironically, ACS is in the middle of its own quality-control crackdown. In September, it required every prekindergarten program in the city to reapply for funding, and in March, the agency planned to announce which programs would be renewed.

But now prekindergarten providers are wondering whether they should apply directly to the federal government for Head Start money and cut out the family services agency altogether.