Parents who depend on Sacramento State’s Head Start program are worried that the quality of childcare services may decrease if changes proposed by President Bush are approved this November.

The proposed changes would re-align what is now federal funding for childcare by turning it over to the state, the U.S. Department of Education said in a press release. Each state will in turn be held accountable for the academic achievement of its population of preschoolers as they go through all grades in school.

But with California’s current budget crisis, Head Start parents and members fear a loss of quality in child care and the possibility of more cuts toward the Head Start program.

“We’re giving it (the power) to the governor when he doesn’t even know what to do with the current budget,” said Aisha Money, Parent Advisory Committee representative for Sac State’s Head Start program.

Money fears that Head Start will be hit twice from the impact of such a plan, with cuts at the federal level and state level.

President Bush wants Head Start to work toward higher educational goals, with a main focus on literacy and mathematic ability in children, according to the news release issued in February.

“We’ll move from a comprehensive program to a model being proposed as an education model” if it passes, according to Michelle Schultz, Head Start site manager for Sacramento County.

Under this proposal, parental involvement will decrease and children will not get a well-rounded pre-kindergarten education, said Schultz.

Head Start was designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with comprehensive programs to meet educational, emotional, social, nutritional and psychological needs, Schultz said.

Bush’s plan is part of his No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, but will leave over 600,000 children nationwide with no childcare or after-school services, as indicated on a report published by the Children’s Defense Fund in 2002. The report also indicated that one in seven children eligible for federal care currently receives assistance and over seven million are left alone after school.

In addition to budget woes, each state will have the authority to take health services from children if the plan passes. All Head Start children receive updated immunizations within 45 days of enrollment, and 96 percent receive social services, according to Head Start’s Web site statistics.

Over 20 families of Sac State students would be impacted if Bush’s plan is passed by Congress. It would have impact on millions of low-income families nationwide.

Head Start has served over 65,000 low income families and children in Sacramento county alone since its inception in 1965. The county currently houses 115 Head Start centers.

Head Start was originally designed as part of the War on Poverty during the civil rights movement to help break the poverty cycle by providing preschool children of low-income families through comprehensive programs and active parent involvement.

Government officials in the 1960s felt they had an obligation to help disadvantaged groups in order to compensate for inequality in social or economic conditions.

The current plan, if passed, would impact low-income families and those with disabilities, almost entirely due to its focus on Head Start programs.

“Without Head Start, how many children are we leaving behind?” Money said.

Head Start parents rallied at the Capitol last month in opposition to Bush’s plan. They carried signs stating “Head Start Works” and “Friends and Family” to demonstrate the success of the current program.

Schultz said that Head Start’s main goal is “to eliminate the negative effects of poverty,” and that the program will continue to advocate opposition to Bush’s agenda.

“I owe it all to Head Start,” Schultz said. She raised four children in the program as a single parent and said that a “parent’s role is extremely important to Head Start.” Head Start’s core members work one on one with children and their families, but Bush’s plan would eliminate that, she said.

“The children are our utmost concern, and they receive quality childcare (at Head Start),” Schultz said.

Head Start officials are getting an early start on getting the message out that Head Start works the way it is, according to Money.

“This is just the beginning of a long process. The elections will be in November,” Money said.

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