Expand Early Head Start and Head Start

Head Start and Early Head Start get stimulus money

Updated: Monday, April 6th, 2009 | By Angie Drobnic Holan

Head Start and Early Head Start are programs for preschool children from low-income families, aimed at giving the children an educational boost before they start school. President Barack Obama promised to expand these programs when campaigning for president.

The recent economic stimulus bill, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, includes more than $2 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start. (Head Start is for 4- and 5-year-olds, while Early Head Start is for 3 and under and pregnant women.)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said $1 billion will go to Head Start, allowing it to serve an additional 16,600 children, while $1.1 billion will go to Early Head Start, allowing it to serve an additional 55,000 children and pregnant women. That money will nearly double the number of Early Head Start participants.

Obama hasn't quite achieved the quadrupling of Early Head Start that he promised, and we are not judging yet whether he has improved the quality of the programs. But the stimulus money is a significant investment in these programs, and we rate his promise In the Works.

Sources:

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

U.S. House of Representatives, Joint Explanatory Statement: Section A (conference report), Feb. 12, 2009 (pdf document)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start, Early Head Start Programs to Receive Over $2 Billion in Recovery Act Funding , April 2, 2009