Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 193 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to urge Congress to recognize the merits and success of the Head Start program, to maintain the program's funding levels, and to reject proposals to move the program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the U.S. Department of Education and to limit the scope of the program.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by: Parents and Children Together; Good Beginnings Alliance; Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc.; and two concerned citizens.

Your Committee finds that Head Start is a highly successful public-private partnership that promotes access to early childhood education and social services for low-income families. The Head Start program incorporates strong academic elements that enhance a child's potential for success in school, including the mastery of reading and basic math, and also provides social, health, and nutrition services to help low-income children achieve the educational goal adopted by the Legislature in H.C.R. No. 38 (1998), that "All of Hawaii's Children Will Be Safe, Healthy, and Ready to Succeed" in school.

Your Committee finds that President Bush has proposed making Head Start a block grant and transferring administrative oversight for the program to the states, and transferring responsibility for Head Start from the U.S. Department of Human Services to the U.S. Department of Education. Your Committee believes that the proposal is an ill-conceived plan that, once implemented, will have serious repercussions for state governments, as well as to existing Head Start programs and the families and children they serve.

Your Committee finds that the State Department of Education (DOE) is already under great pressure to upgrade dilapidated school facilities, expand educational resources, improve educational performance for its general student population, and meet the special mandates of the Felix Consent Decree. Your Committee further finds that it would likely be difficult for the DOE to take on the additional responsibility of providing comprehensive early childhood education and related services for pre-schoolers from low-income families.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 193 and recommends its adoption.