By Troy Hunter, Director of Research, Evaluation, and Performance, Groundwork Ohio
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The Office of Head Start provided a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to all Head Start and Early Head Start grant recipients to add new requirements to the Head Start Program Performance Standards in three main areas:
Workforce
Mental Health
Quality Improvements
Ohio Head Start Programs employ more than 8,000 staff members serving children.
Educators have systemically subsidized our early childhood education system through low wages and lack of benefits and there is a need for change. Many of the proposed requirements would address challenges faced by children, families, and educators.
In response to the notice, Groundwork Ohio provided insights into how the proposed rules would impact the Ohio Head Start programs that are an integral part of the early childhood ecosystem in the state with over 33,000 children enrolled. Groundwork’s comments reflected the financial challenges that implementing some of these new rules would pose and requested additional funds to support the proposed requirements.