New report: Head Start funding needs overhaul to serve children more equitably

Aug. 28, 2024 – Contact: Alan Richard, arichard@southerneducation.org, (202) 641-1300

The federal Head Start early childhood education program’s funding formula needs an overhaul to enable the program to serve more children and families — especially those with greatest need, a new Southern Education Foundation (SEF) research report shows.

Head Start’s current funding formula dates back to the 1980s and provides uneven levels of funding to local-level program providers — including those in the same state or city competing for the same teachers, according to the report.

“Head Start has had a significant and measurable impact on children and families in the nearly 60 years of the program,” the report says. “We intend for this report to help strengthen the program and provide even more children and families with a more equitable Head Start.”

The new SEF report is a project of the Southern Early Childhood Education Justice Network (SECEJ), which officially launched in early 2024, bringing together more than 30 early childhood organizations to advocate for expanded, high-quality early childhood programs in the 17 SEF states. The Head Start report and the SECEJ Network are made possible by a grant from the Bezos Family Foundation.

The authors of the Head Start report include leading researchers in early childhood education: Cathy Grace at the University of Mississippi, Kathy Thornburg at the University of Missouri, Sheerah Neal Keith at the University of Kentucky, and SEF’s Director of Research and Policy Max Altman and SEF Research and Policy Specialist Allison Boyle.

Among the other key findings in the report:

• Head Start funding is not aligned with child- and family-poverty rates in each state, leaving some high-need families without access to the program.
• The rates of children and families living in poverty served by Head Start in each state varies widely, from 7.7% to 50% depending on the state.
• Children under 6 living in poverty in the South are less likely to be enrolled in Head Start than in the rest of the nation. The average rate of children in poverty served in the 17 SEF states was 18.8%, compared with 24.8% for all other states.
• Among the 17 SEF states, the highest rate of children in poverty enrolled in Head Start is 35.5% in Mississippi. The region’s lowest rate is 13.9% in Georgia.
• Head Start teacher salaries are generally lower in the South than in the rest of the nation — even when adjusted for costs of living. The lowest average Head Start teacher salary was $33,206 in the program’s Region IV, which includes eight southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
• The lowest average Head Start teacher salaries in the SEF states were $25,839 in South Carolina and $27,035 in Mississippi.
• The Head Start teacher turnover rate is about 25%, and teachers say that higher pay is the top reason for leaving.
• Programs with higher levels of per-child funding tend to have the highest quality ratings. Programs in the 17 SEF states had lower quality ratings on average than the nation’s quality ratings.

To make Head Start more equitable for families in need, the SEF report calls on Congress to study and overhaul the program’s funding formula, appoint a blue ribbon commission of experts to recommend further program improvements, and provide for higher-quality professional development for Head Start teachers, among other improvements.

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The Southern Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by partners and donors committed to advancing equitable education policies and practices that elevate learning for low-income students and students of color in the southern states. We develop and disseminate research-based solutions for policymakers and grow the capacity of education leaders and influencers to create systemic change.

The Southern Early Childhood Education Justice (SECEJ) network, an initiative managed by the Southern Education Foundation, is a regional coalition that unites state and national policy organizations and advocates to improve and expand early learning opportunities across the South. This network of partners engages in strategic professional learning and works to create and advance a comprehensive, regional early childhood policy strategy with a deliberate emphasis on supporting Black children and children from low-income families.