HHS Proposes Dismantling Child Care Bureau

03/20/2006

HHS Proposes Dismantling Child Care Bureau

It's easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worked for you two years ago, but will soon be out of date.
Roger von Oech

Last week, Secretary Mike Leavitt announced plans to reorganize the two main child care and early education offices within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In the past, the Child Care Bureau and the Head Start Bureau have operated as independent divisions within the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF). The reorganization plan would separate the Child Care Bureau and the Head Start Bureau by moving both programs out of ACYF.

HHS plans to move some functions of the Child Care Bureau into the Office of Family Assistance, which is responsible for overseeing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other HHS welfare programs. HHS will also move the Head Start Bureau out of ACYF. While the Child Care Bureau will be effectively dismantled, HHS plans to elevate the Head Start Bureau.

Exchange Strategic Partner, the National Association for Child Care Resource and Referral (NACCRRA) came out in opposition to these changes observing…

“ . . . elevating the Head Start Bureau, while dismantling the Child Care Bureau, is a step backward for child care and early education and counter to the Administration's goal of greater collaboration between all early care and education programs. NACCRRA believes that the Administration's plans will actually discourage collaboration between child care and Head Start and set back years of progress towards an integrated system of early childhood learning opportunities for young children. Further, the proposed reorganization will undercut the goals of the Administration’s Good Start, Grow Smart Initiative, which aims to increase overall levels of school readiness and early literacy in states. Rather than separating the two programs, the Administration should be looking for ways to better coordinate Head Start and child care.”

For details on the proposal and NACCRRA’s position, go to
http://www.naccrra.org/policy/?id=79

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