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Dive Brief:

• The state formula used to determine federal Head Start grant allocations is not aligned with rising child poverty rates, according to a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. As a result, programs in states facing rising child poverty rates will serve a lower proportion of eligible children.
• In 2022, the number of Head Start seats available for every 100 children in poverty varied from 9 in Nevada to 53 in Oregon, according to GAO. This wide gap continued even after factoring in state and county child poverty rates.
• GAO recommended that Congress review and revise laws on the allocation of Head Start funding. For instance, lawmakers could clarify which states should receive more Head Start funding to ensure an “equitable national geographic distribution” of grants, as required by law. 

Dive Insight:

Head Start provided early learning and development services to nearly 790,000 children from birth to age 5 from low-income families during the 2021-22 school year, GAO said. 

The Department of Health and Human Services, which administers Head Start, “estimates that far more children are eligible than can be served due to limited resources, heightening the importance of targeting services effectively,” the report added.

GAO suggested that HHS direct the Office of Head Start to use its grant-making authority to weigh the geographic distribution of Head Start funding across communities. On top of that, the report said the Office of Head Start should use existing data to identify Head Start access rates and determine where more resources may be needed. 

Meanwhile, Head Start classrooms are struggling to recruit and retain staff nationwide. To address this, HHS proposed a rule in November to increase Head Start wages and benefits. The department’s proposal includes raising pay and establishing a $15 hourly minimum wage. Head Start employed with 260,000 staff in fiscal year 2022, according to HHS. 

Republican members of Congress, however, have labeled the proposal “misguided, saying it’s “inappropriate” for HHS to mandate a wage higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. 

The National Head Start Association said while the proposal has “worthy goals,” its cost could ultimately shrink the number of children Head Start can serve — unless Congress appropriates more funding for the program.