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As nonprofits, programs and advocates across the country brace for deep cuts from President Donald Trump and his administration during this year’s budget process, one popular early childhood program appears to be safe, writes CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones.
The 60-year-old Head Start program provides low-income families early childhood education, meals and parenting support. Last year it served 800,000 children from birth through age 5, including 83,000 kids in California.
The program is relatively cost-efficient: Compared to a private preschool in California, which can cost more than $20,000 per pupil a year, Head Start’s per-pupil annual cost is roughly $13,700. But Trump’s initial April budget plan had the $12.27 billion program on the chopping block.
The potential elimination of the program kicked off an intense crusade led by Head Start staff, families and advocates who argued that the program was vital for keeping families out of poverty. Congress received more than 300,000 letters and petitions to save the program amassed more than 48,000 signatures.
The fierce campaign seems to have been successful: Trump’s latest budget proposal released last week doesn’t touch the program. It’s a striking win given that the agency that oversees Head Start, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is facing dramatic cuts, including a more than 20% reduction in workforce.
But the uncertainty of other programs intertwined with Head Start, such as Medicaid, and the fact that the budget may change mean Head Start isn’t out of the woods just yet.
- Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association: “Folks are scared. The fact that eliminating Head Start was even under consideration has been scary.”
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Other Stories You Should Know
Schools struggle to implement billing changes
The vision? Allow schools to directly bill health insurers, allowing them to hire more staff and offer more services.
In practice? More than a year after some school districts were supposed to implement the new billing changes, only a small portion have begun doing so, reports CalMatters’ Ana B. Ibarra.
In response to rising rates of depression and anxiety among young students, California in 2021 launched a five-year, $4.7 billion initiative to expand mental health services and workforce. One piece of the initiative included a new billing program for schools to charge Medi-Cal and private insurers for mental health services.
The California Department of Health Care Services, tasked with overseeing implementation of the new billing practices, set July 2024 as a rollout target. But only 14 school districts and county offices of education have begun billing for behavioral health services, out of a total of 494 that have signed up to do so.
School leaders say that delayed guidance and training from the state are contributing to the slow rollout. In Santa Clara County, the delays in reimbursement forced its office of education to notify its mental health staff about possible layoffs.
CA sues Trump administration (again)
In its 19th lawsuit against the current Trump administration, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Wednesday that the state is suing the U.S. Federal Highway Administration for blocking funds geared towards building electric vehicle chargers across the country.
California joins 16 other states in filing the lawsuit, which accuses the administration of illegally withholding $5 billion that Congress had already appropriated to states. In addition to the $300 million California could lose, Bonta said thousands of jobs are at risk.
- Bonta, at a press conference in Burlingame: “California has already signed nearly $37 million in contracts … to construct EV chargers, with projects along major travel corridors, ready to move into construction. But the Federal Highway Administration’s actions threaten to delay construction and stop local industries from building these chargers.”
Electric vehicles are critical to California’s ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions. About 30% of new zero-emission vehicles sold in the U.S. are sold in California, according to the California Air Resources Board. But the state lacks a robust network of charging stations — especially if it is to support the 7 million electric cars that are expected to be on its road by 2030.
And lastly: Should CA ban cat declawing?
A proposed California law would make cat declawing illegal across the state, citing animal cruelty concerns. CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on the bill and why some vets oppose it as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.
SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: If California’s economy is so great, then why does it also have one of the highest unemployment and poverty rates in the country?
California’s consumer price index, not its gross domestic product, paints a better picture of how residents are getting along economically, writes Aref Aziz, a marketer, campaign consultant and policy expert.
Other things worth your time:
CA say Gov. Newsom is more focused on boosting presidential prospects than fixing state // Los Angeles Times
The Fed held the line on interest rates. What does that mean for CA? // The Sacramento Bee
Why 35 House Democrats joined Republicans against a major CA climate policy // The New York Times
New CA law makes ERs key to helping victims of domestic violence, human trafficking // The Orange County Register
After discussions with Bonta, OpenAI reverses course and says its nonprofit will continue to control its business // AP News
Wellness coaches take on youth mental health problem in rural CA // EdSource
Native American veterans of Alcatraz occupation react to Trump’s island prison aspirations // San Francisco Chronicle
Amid Trump trade war, LA urged to hold off on wage hikes for tourism workers // Los Angeles Times
Five charged in deadly migrant smuggling attempt off Del Mar // The San Diego Union-Tribune
