Recent actions at the federal level have created a great deal of uncertainty for federally funded programs that serve Georgia families with young children, especially Georgia’s Head Start Programs. 

Head Start and Early Head Start, which are federally funded and locally implemented, provide comprehensive child care and health services for children from families who meet certain eligibility criteria. Head Start serves children ages four and five; Early Head Start serves infants and toddlers as well as pregnant women. 

Head Start and Early Head Start are critical to Georgia families, communities, and businesses. We must work collectively to protect funding for these programs.

Three Things to Know About Head Start

1. Head Start Allows Parents to Work: Head Start provides child care to parents working at employers across the state, such as chicken processing plants and onion farms. Without child care, parents cannot work, thrive, and support their families. 

2. Head Start Serves Rural Communities: More than one in four child care slots in Georgia’s rural communities are provided by Head Start. Head Start is also a major employer in these small communities.

3. Head Start Supports the Health and Well-Being of Families: Head Start provides essential services, such as physical, mental, and oral health care; nutrition; early intervention for children with disabilities; and employment and education support for caregivers.

Join GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students and the Georgia Head Start Association (GHSA) in reaching out to our state’s congressional delegation. We must protect this asset, which is so vital to Georgia’s communities, families, and businesses. 

If you have time, PLEASE CONSIDER CALLING THE OFFICE OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR. This means more to them than an email. Here are some talking points that may be helpful for a phone conversation:

• 22,000 children served by Head Start in Georgia last year.
• 379 Head Start and Early Head Start locations across the state.
• 14,817 parents who are employed, in school, or in job training because of Head Start support.
• 1 in 4 child care slots in rural Georgia are Head Start slots.
• Over 6,000 Georgia workers employed by Head Start.
• 308 active military or veteran families served.
• Head Start programs make the government 5-9 percent more than the cost of the program due to savings on public assistance throughout a child’s life.