Head Start is a free, federally-funded program that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition and parent-involvement services to low-income children and families. A new proposal from the Trump administration would do away with many of the federal regulations that guide the program. On this episode, we talk with stakeholders across the state about what the proposed changes may mean for Iowa families. We talk with Chris Juett, executive director of the Iowa Head Start Association, and Drake University Head Start Director Lisa Proctor. We also hear from Mimi Solis, Head Start teacher and former Head Start parent. Later in the episode, the Library Bill of Rights was adopted by the American Library Association in 1939. We listen back to a conversation with former Des Moines Public Library Director Sue Woody about the purpose of the Library Bill of Rights, and the threats it faces today. (Part of this episode was originally produced March 1, 2023.)
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Since its inception in 1965 in President Lyndon B. Johnson's "war on poverty," the federal Head Start program has served nearly 40 million children and their families in preparing to succeed in school and life. Head Start has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including flat funding, new mandates, attacks from the Trump Administration and a proposal to eliminate the program entirely. On this episode, we here from different Head Start stakeholders in Iowa about the services this program provides to young children and their families, how they are managing this changing landscape and what the future may hold for this program. -
Hundreds of low-income families will need to choose between working or taking care of their kids because two federally funded child care programs are about to run out of money. As the federal shutdown starts affecting social services, families also have to consider the impending loss of SNAP benefits. -
The bill, proposed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and amended by lawmakers, would use $16 million of existing child care funding for new partnerships that provide a full day of care to 4-year-olds in preschool, among several other changes.
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Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed several child care policies during her Condition of the State address Tuesday night. But she is not calling on lawmakers to expand free full-day preschool, as education leaders have asked.
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Gov. Kim Reynolds is awarding new grants for businesses to expand child care access for their employees. Johnson County is also expanding a program that provides additional help for families that receive child care assistance from the state.
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A pilot program that combined public funds with private donations in ten Iowa communities increased child care capacity without raising prices for families, according to a report released Tuesday by the Iowa Women’s Foundation and the Common Sense Institute.
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State officials announced a new website Thursday with the goal of making it easier for Iowans to find child care. -
Sixteen- and 17-year-olds would be allowed to care for infants and toddlers at child care centers without direct supervision under a bill that advanced Tuesday in the Iowa House of Representatives. -
More Iowans could qualify for government-funded help with paying for child care under a bill awaiting the governor’s signature.
