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HARKIN ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN IOWA HEAD START
2/17/2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of his ongoing efforts to improve early
child development, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced that
Community Opportunities in Carroll received over $1.3 million and
Operation New View in Dubuque received over $1.1 million to continue
another full year of Head Start Full Year, Part Day & Handicapped
Programs. Harkin helped secure this funding as the ranking Democrat on
the panel that funds Head Start and other education initiatives.
“Head Start provides over seven thousand children in communities
across Iowa with essential education and health services to ensure that
they have the skills to succeed when they start school. I am
pleased that Iowa children can continue their Head Start programs for
another year,” Harkin said. “This is the type of educational investment
Iowa needs to ensure a brighter economic future for every student.”
Children who receive Head Start’s comprehensive services are shown to
be less likely to repeat a grade, less likely to commit crimes, and
more likely to complete high school and college than their at‑risk
peers who did not have Head Start.
Harkin is a long-time leader in the fight to ensure that Head Start is
adequately funded. Unfortunately the President’s FY 2007 budget
continues to fund Head Start at last year’s levels, which currently do
not cover the program’s mounting costs. As many as 19,000 children are
at risk of losing Head Start services as a result of this budget.