Proposed legislation hurts Head Start.

• Position: Preschool Programs - Brief Article

The national movement to change the Federal preschool program would do more harm than good, according to James Elicker, a professor of child development at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., and former Head Start teacher. "Head Start is not broken, so why make radical and risky changes in its funding and administration?," he asks.

"There is substantial evidence that Head Start improves the health, school readiness, and long-term educational outcomes of low income children, as well as provides needed support and education for their parents. The program has extremely high customer satisfaction ratings, too."

The proposed legislation calls for transferring the funding and administration of Head Start from the Federal government to individual states using a block grant formula. "That would be a mistake at this time because administrative costs will undoubtedly increase; states will use the Federal funds to replace funds lost in state budget cuts and the net result will be a decrease in ... quality and a reduction in the total number of poor children" that are served by this extremely vital...