HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

208

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

Urging the U.s. Congress to recognize the merits and successes of the head start program and to reject any proposal to limit the program's scope or to move it from the u.s. department of health and human services to the u.s. department of education.

 

WHEREAS, Head Start is a 38-year-old federally funded program charged with preparing poverty-level preschoolers for elementary school; and

WHEREAS, Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that serves children from birth to age five, pregnant women, and their families; and

WHEREAS, Head Start also sends children to dentists, doctors, or to mental health professionals; and

WHEREAS, Head Start provides case management services and general educational development and parenting classes for families that live well below the federal poverty level; and

WHEREAS, Head Start has been overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services since 1965; and

WHEREAS, the President of the United States has proposed moving the program to the U.S. Department of Education and changing the focus of the program to one that promotes literacy as its primary function; and

WHEREAS, the President's proposal fails to recognize that Head Start is not just an early education program but also a family support program, and if the proposed changes are implemented, the family support aspect of Head Start will be lost; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that the U.S. Congress is urged to recognize the meritorious aspects and the successes of the Head Start program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Congress maintain funding for Head Start at the highest possible level; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Congress reject any proposal to move Head Start from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the U.S. Department of Education; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Congress reject any attempt to limit the scope of the Head Start program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States of America, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Secretary of Education, the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and each member of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Head Start Program