(...Empty Chairs continued) 

Speakers stressed the impact on low-income children and families of the loss of high quality early childhood educational programming, nutritional meals, social services, health care referrals and developmental screenings, and mental health access and treatments for children who require it. They also cited definitive research which has found that there are short and long-term educational benefits for children who participate in Head Start, including improved literacy skills, reduced behavior problems, less grade retention, reduced special education enrollment, and increased high school graduation rates. They repeated the proven economic, health, and law enforcement benefits from participation in Head Start that include increased earnings, employment and decreased welfare dependency, improved overall health and higher immunization rates, and decreased involvement with law enforcement and criminal activity. Finally, parent testimonials gave particularly eloquent examples of the life-changing benefits of the program.

Head Start currently serves 2,700 low-income children in RI with a combination of federal and state funding. For over 15 years, 400 of Rhode Island’s poorest children have been supported by state funds to attend preschool programs in every community, as follows: 212 are served by Providence Head Start, 40 by East Bay Community Action Program, 38 by Child, Inc., 32 by South County Community Action Program, 31 by Woonsocket Head Start, 30 by Comprehensive Community Action Program, and 17 by Tri-Town Community Action Program.

Currently, only 2,400 or 47% of Rhode Island’s very low-income children are enrolled in the Head Start program. If the Governor’s proposal passes in the FY09 budget, 400 of the state’s poorest children will lose their places in Head Start classrooms and the statewide percentage of eligible children served will drop from 47 to 39%.

Three hundred and ninety (390) preschool children are served in the East Bay, with approximately 36% of these in Newport, a core city, another 36% in East Providence, 10% in Bristol/Warren, 14% in Middletown and Portsmouth, and 4% in Tiverton. Forty (40) of these preschoolers are supported by state funding. Over 15% of the children enrolled in our program have diagnosed disabilities. Our program alone will lose $425,000 if the state cuts are approved. Head Start is an early and wise investment in our children’s futures, and we simply cannot afford not to fund it.