203
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

ENCOURAGING ALL STATE AND COUNTY AGENCIES TO ASSIST THE HEAD
   START PROGRAM TO OBTAIN LAND AND OTHER RESOURCES. 


 1       WHEREAS, the Head Start Program was established when
 2   Congress enacted the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964; and
 3   
 4       WHEREAS, the Hawaii Head Start Program is the largest early
 5   childhood education provider in Hawaii and the Pacific Rim; and
 6   
 7       WHEREAS, Head Start centers have provided comprehensive
 8   health, education, nutrition, dental, and social services to
 9   low income children and families; and
10   
11       WHEREAS, Head Start is improving the lives of children in
12   Hawaii by providing:
13   
14       (1)  Improved health care for young children;
15   
16       (2)  More responsive social services for families; and 
17   
18       (3)  Greater awareness in parents of the needs of their
19            children;
20   
21   and
22   
23       WHEREAS, research findings document Head Start's lasting
24   effect on children, including its ability to improve their
25   social competence as they get older; and
26   
27       WHEREAS, Head Start provides opportunities for career
28   development to families that participate in their program, and
29   many of their classroom staff members all across the nation are
30   current or former Head Start parents; and
31   
32       WHEREAS, Head Start is currently serving 2,800 children and
33   their families throughout Hawaii; and
34   
35       WHEREAS, federal funding of Hawaii's Head Start Program
36   amounted to over $16,000,000; and 

 
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 1       WHEREAS, Head Start programs receive matching federal funds
 2   of eighty percent of the total funding, with twenty percent
 3   generated through State or private funding sources; and 
 4   
 5       WHEREAS, supporting Head Start is an investment in Hawaii's
 6   children and families, and it is one of the best investments
 7   that Hawaii can pursue; now, therefore,
 8   
 9       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
10   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
11   of 2000, the Senate concurring, that this body encourages all
12   State and County agencies to assist Head Start Programs in
13   obtaining land and other resources to boost local funding and
14   corresponding federal matching funds; and
15   
16       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all Head Start programs be
17   considered a public purpose; and 
18   
19       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
20   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the
21   Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Department of
22   Hawaiian Home Lands, and the Mayors of each county.
23 
24 
25 
26                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________