Head Start a federal program providing early childhood education to children from low income families has struggled recently in some states but remains strong in South Dakota.
Were in a lot better shape than some other programs around the country, Eric Kunzweiler, interim Head Start director and chief executive officer for Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership, said. There is a national, I guess, barrier right now or problem with Head Start recruitment of employees due to several things, but one of it is teacher pay. And nationally teacher pay isnt equivalent with what a teacher would make in a school district its a little bit lower. But the educational requirements for teachers are pretty close to what is required in a school district.
Kunzweiler is interim Head Start director at ICAP because theyre currently hiring a new full-time director. Despite that, he said they havent experienced some of the recruitment challenges reported elsewhere; they expect to have a new director soon. Earlier this year, the Alaska Head Start program closed a preschool center to find money for pay increases to address employee turnover.
The office of Head Start is allowing programs to look at restructuring, Kunzweiler said. What that can do then is maybe eliminate some staff, but its also going to eliminate some children that receive services. But in the long run those programs then would be able to keep that funding. They wouldnt lose the funding; theyd be able to keep it, which in turn would allow them to pay staff more.
He said thats not something ICAP is doing.
Weve been pretty lucky as a program here at ICAP, Kunzweiler said. We do have, you know, difficulties with teacher turnover especially in Sioux Falls. Weve been pretty lucky in our other areas though. But you know, it just comes down to finding those qualified staff. The labor markets really tough right now.
The Department of Health and Human Services responded to those concerns by issuing new rules Aug. 16 that will raise salaries for most Head Start teachers by $10,000 over the course of several years.
Unfortunately, it is an unfunded mandate, Kunzweiler said. Theyre going to require it; but as of right now theres no funding tied to it. So its going to be up to the programs to become compliant with that eventually at some point whether thats on the program themselves or on the change of scope of the program, like what youve been reading about like they did in Alaska. Thats an option. Or my hope is now that they have this final rule out now it gives them a little bit more ammo to continue to talk to congress about funding that mandate.
ICAP administers Head Start for a 12-county region in South Dakota that includes Brookings. They have an enrollment of 375 kids, including 57 in Brookings. They also serve an additional 24 children in Brookings through Early Head Start a program for pregnant moms and kids up to age 3.
Over the years, the Head Start program has become very well known, Kunzweiler said. Its proven to be a highly effective early childhood program to have kids ready for school. I think they (Health and Human Services) have identified some areas that are barriers for programs right now, and I think these new rule changes that have come out is a good foundation to hopefully create solutions in the future especially when it comes to staff pay.
He said ICAP remains on solid footing, and he encourages eligible families to sign up for Head Start.
We have family services specialists is what we call them. And they meet with the families and go over the program requirements, Kunzweiler said. Its an income based program. So I believe its 100% of the federal poverty level in order to become qualified for the program. Then of course there are some automatic qualifiers such as if youre on food stamps I believe, WIC, stuff like that.
Once phased in, the new rules will allow families spending more than 30% of their income on housing to qualify. Families can learn more about Head Start through the website www.interlakescap.com.
Were always looking for more kids. If were not full already, its always great to have a wait list, Kunzweiler said. Head Start is a premier preschool program. Its for low income families, but we also enroll some people that are over-income too were allowed some flexibility there. Also we serve a lot of kids with disabilities. So its an intense, comprehensive program. The return on investment has proven time and time again that children that are involved in the Head Start program are you know, when its time to go to school they are ready.
He said Head Start is more than just a preschool. They work with other programs to connect families with resources needed to succeed. In the past, ICAPs Head Start program has connected families lacking health coverage with free dental services; connected the family of an injured child with a program that provided free surgical treatment; and connected a teenage mom with the resources she needed to not only stay in school but also graduate on time and become a certified nursing assistant. By supporting the well-being of families, Head Start enhances the development of children.
Its a really comprehensive program education, nutrition, mental health, Kunzweiler said. Just a lot of different comprehensive things that were able to do with these kids to get them ready for school.
Email Jay Roe at[email protected].
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