NAEYC Update & Alert February 8, 2005

Budget Proposal Heightens Insecurity for Children's Futures Call Congress: There Are Better Choices

Yesterday, the Administration released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2006. It recommends dramatic cuts to children's, education, health, nutrition and other domestic programs. It also would make the recent tax cuts permanent and create additional tax cuts. If enacted, this budget proposal would mean fewer children have access to child care and Head Start, more children would be at risk of hunger, health care would be out of reach of low income families, schools will not have the resources they need to help every child reach high expectations, and children with disabilities would lose important services. Cutting the investment in the well-being of our nation's children, particularly those from low income working families, is the wrong direction. These needs will not disappear; the states and communities which have stretched budgets will need to pick up the pieces or children will lose services. Fiscal responsibility can be achieved without shortchanging our children.

At the end of this update is information and points for contacting your members of Congress to urge them to make good choices for our nation's children and families.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of specific programs eliminated, reduced or frozen under the budget proposal. (When programs are frozen, it means there is no adjustment for inflation, so in terms of services, a freeze works as a cut.)

• Head Start, the nation's preschool program for the poorest children, would receive only a $45 million increase, which is proposed for only 9 states, leaving the rest of children in Early Head Start and Head Start without even an inflation increase. If adopted, it is estimated that as many as 25,000 children will lose Head Start and Early Head Start next year.
• The Child Care & Development Block Grant, which provides child care assistance to low income working families, and hasn't seen an increase in three years, would not be increased again. According to the Administration's budget tables, this would mean that 300,000 fewer children would have child care assistance by fiscal year 2009, on top of the 200,000 who lost assistance over fiscal years 2003 and 2004.
• Special education funds that help infants, toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities receive early intervention services to help with their development and school readiness would also be frozen at last year's levels, preventing more young children from getting early interventions for their special needs.
• Even Start is eliminated; Reading First and Early Reading First are frozen at last year's levels.
• Perkins Loan Program and the Perkins Loan Forgiveness program, which include canceling loans for higher education for Head Start teachers, would be eliminated, and the CAMPIS program would be frozen.
• States could not treat recipients of TANF services as "categorically eligible" for Food Stamps unless they also received TANF cash assistance. It is estimated about 300,000 people could lose Food Stamps from this change.
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers (after school programs) would be cut to last year's level, and state grants for Safe & Drug Free Schools would be eliminated.
• Bilingual education under NCLB again receives no increase despite the population of children whose native language is not English is growing.
• Medicaid, which provides health care for low income children, people with disabilities, and low income elderly, would be cut by $45 billion over 10 years.

Action:

Call your members of Congress and tell them to reject this budget proposal. A responsible budget does not shut the door on child care, Head Start, good schools, and other supports that help children maximize their well-being and learning and keep families stable and thriving. Let them know how important it is to your programs, your children, your communities to have high quality early learning and other services.

Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-225-3121.
Or email at http://capwiz.com/naeyc/dbq/officials/