Head Start changes prompt confusion and worry for child care providers

Local preschools that run Head Start programs are grappling with how to move forward with a new policy that bans undocumented children from their schools.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that children without legal status would be barred from Head Start programs, effective immediately. That move was a reinterpretation of a 1998 policy (the federal government has opened up a 30-day comment period about the change).

“We’ve been around for 60 years as a Head Start program. We’ve never had to inquire about children or families’ legal status, so this is a far departure from what's normally been done within this program,” said Luis Bautista, executive director of the Los Angeles County Office of Education Head Start and Early Learning Division, which serves about 7,000 children.

The announcement came without implementation guidelines, which HHS says will be forthcoming. “There's still a lot of questions around this because the rule doesn't offer any guidance or instruction,” Bautista said.

How do providers check immigration status? Do providers have to disenroll children now or is this only for new enrollees? Do preschools have to go by the child’s status or the parents’ legal status?

“We're operating business as usual right now until we receive specific guidance from the Office of Head Start,” said Justine Lawrence, senior vice president of Prenatal to Five at the Children’s Institute, which serves about 900 children in its Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

The ACLU and Head Start groups have also challenged the policy change, asking a federal court for an injunction.

Families already affected

Even before the Trump administration announced the new policy, Lawrence said she saw a dip in attendance due to the federal immigration sweeps that started in June.

“In the month of June, our attendance went down probably by about 10%, maybe a little bit more,” Lawrence said.

Bautista with the county education office said their enrollment numbers for the new program year are down by about 20%.

Families learn about Head Start through word of mouth and through recruitment efforts outside of grocery stores and community centers.

“ If people are concerned about being out and about, then it makes it harder for our staff to connect with them,” he said.

He also said the policy change banning undocumented children might discourage other families from attending their programs.

“I think regardless of your legal status — if you're seeing a program become much more restrictive, less welcoming to members of the community, I think you would question whether or not that's where you want to have your child enrolled in,” he said. “I think it does send a really negative message. I mean, in my mind, a 3-year-old is not ‘illegal.’”

Donna Sneeringer is vice president and chief strategy officer at Child Care Resource Center, which serves about 2,500 children in its Head Start programs in Los Angeles county. She said they’ve been working to support children with fears of immigration enforcement since June.

“I think this is just another layer of concern and worry for parents and their very young children who don't know what the future holds for them,” she said.