[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 238 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 238
Expressing support for the Head Start Program, which has had a positive
impact on the lives of low income children and families since its
inception and endorsing its administrative structure and program
content.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 15, 2003
Mr. Payne (for himself and Mr. Holt) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the Head Start Program, which has had a positive
impact on the lives of low income children and families since its
inception and endorsing its administrative structure and program
content.
Whereas in 1964 the Federal Government asked a panel of child development
experts to draw up a program to help communities meet the needs of
disadvantaged preschool children;
Whereas Project Head Start, launched as an eight-week summer program by the
Office of Economic Opportunity in 1965, was designed to help break the
cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families
with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health,
nutritional, and psychological needs;
Whereas in 1969, Head Start was transferred from the Office of Economic
Opportunity to the Office of Child Development in the U.S. Department of
Health, Education and Welfare, and for more than 20 years has been a
part of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families in the
Department of Health and Human Services, in recognition of the
comprehensive service child and family development aspects of the
program;
Whereas Head Start has served 21,214,295 children since it began in 1965;
Whereas more than 133,000 Head Start fathers participated in organized regularly
scheduled activities designed to involve them in Head Start and Early
Head Start programs;
Whereas Head Start programs by law must collaborate and coordinate with Title I
schools;
Whereas Head Start programs collaborate with other agencies such as to provide a
cohesive network of services in order to ensure responsiveness to the
community which it serves;
Whereas 20 States have Head Start waiting lists, totaling a half a million
children who are eligible for enrollment yet unable to enter Head Start
programs;
Whereas a recent national study by the President's Management Council reported
that Head Start received the highest customer satisfaction rating of any
government agency or private business;
Whereas a recent study by the Family and Child Experiences Survey concluded Head
Start children are ``ready to learn'' and in kindergarten, Head Start
graduates made substantial gains in word knowledge, letter recognition,
math skills and writing skills relative to national norms; and
Whereas parental involvement in Head Start is mandatory and key to the success
of the program and half of the members of the Head Start Policy Council,
which serves as a vital link between the community and public and
private agencies, are made up of parents: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes the major
contribution Head Start has made to America's children and families and
urges the program to continue to improve the quality of their
classrooms through attention to the facilities, equipment and supplies,
educational activities, schedule, and interaction with children.
Sec. 2. The House of Representatives recognizes Head Start as an
apolitical Federal-to-local partnership based on community needs and
supports maintaining the current administrative responsibilities of the
Department of Health and Human Services over the program and continuing
the Federal-to-local structure of the program.
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