Head Start May Get Extra Money Panel Votes To Enroll 300 More Children

Three hundred poor children would come off waiting lists and into Head Start classrooms, under plans approved by the Legislature’s budget committee Thursday.

Sen. Clyde Boatright, R-Rathdrum, won the committee’s support on a 13-7 vote to shift $1.5 million in leftover federal welfare funds into expanding Head Start.

“I’m very happy to see the vote come through that way,” an elated Boatright said afterward. “It will help a lot of in-poverty children.”

Head Start, an acclaimed federal preschool program for low-income children and their families, now serves only 20 percent of eligible children in Idaho because of scarce funds. About 3,000 kids are in the program statewide.

The decision Thursday was made as the committee set the budget for the coming year for the giant Health & Welfare Department. It was included in the directions the committee attaches to the budget, which tie legislative strings to the money.

“This still isn’t a done deal, but with the support we’ve received here I feel fairly confident that we’ll be able to go all the way,” Boatright said.

The budget still needs the approval of both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s signature to become law. But once the budget committee has set a budget, it’s rare that either house would change it.

The money comes from a pot of leftover funds that are available because Idaho’s welfare rolls have dropped so precipitously since the state started its welfare reform efforts. The caseload has dropped by 70 percent.

The money still has lots of federal strings tied to it. But they’re strings that fit right in with Head Start: It must be used for services to low-income people, and they must be “diversionary” programs designed to help those people improve their lot in life.

Katherine Pavesic, executive director of the Idaho Head Start Association, said, “I think it’s very positive to really take the resources from the savings in a program that was provided for low-income families, and move it to another program that’s continuing to work with those families.”

Pavesic said she was particularly pleased to see the legislative vote of support for expanding the program. “It’s always been a funding issue, not a lack of support from the Legislature.”

Doug Fagerness, director of North Idaho College Head Start, said he was “guardedly ecstatic” over the news Thursday.

“I’m really excited, of course,” he said. “It’s thrilling to see that the money’s been found.”

Fagerness said it may be some time before it’s clear just how the expansion of the program will work. Until now, the funding for Head Start has come directly from the feds, without the state participating.

“Our greatest challenge is how do we maximize, get every penny possible, right to where the rubber meets the road - to kids and families,” Fagerness said.

He praised Boatright for “carrying this forward.”

“I think he’s truly recognized how important Head Start is to lowincome families,” Fagerness said.

All three Panhandle members of the budget committee voted in favor of Boatright’s motion.

There were some questions Thursday as to whether the wording Boatright used might limit the program to families on the welfare rolls, but both Boatright and Health & Welfare officials said that it wouldn’t.

Legislative budget analyst Dick Burns said, “I’m interpreting it broadly. Obviously, they’ve got a lot of groundwork to cover” to settle the details of how the program will work.

Idaho still is among only a small minority of states that puts no state funds into Head Start, to supplement the federal funds.

The $1.5 million is enough to open about 15 new classrooms, with about 20 students each.

This sidebar appeared with the story: BACKGROUND THE PROGRAM Head Start works to prepare disadvantaged kids to be successful in kindergarten. It includes programs for parents and whole families as well as services directly to children.