West Virginia Sen. Capito: Head Start funding restored to Trump's budget proposal

Funding for Head Start has been restored in President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Thursday.

An initial version of the president’s proposal released in April included significant cuts to the 60-year-old early childhood education program, which raised concern among stakeholders over the fate of the more than $90 million in federal funds that support West Virginia Head Start programs annually.

“We have a lot of vital services through Head Start in West Virginia,” Capito said. “We’ve got to get our young families, our young students off in healthy, educated, ready-for-school posture, which is what Head Start does. So I’m pleased to see that the president doesn’t intend to cut the funding for that, and I think Congress will follow his direction.”

Head Start programs play a role in workforce development, Capito said.

“We need more people back to work, we need more younger members of the workforce to feel like their children are being cared for. And part of that can be Head Start, in terms of a place for them to go and learn,” she said.

While she said she is a “big supporter” of the program, there are “probably reforms that we could do” to improve Head Start, Capito said.

“Head Start has always been willing to reform and do better,” she said.

In a recent interview with WV News, Philip Keith, executive director of Central WV Community Action, a nonprofit that provides Head Start services in several West Virginia counties, said that along with preparing children for school, the program also offers a variety of other services.

“The goal for the Head Start program is to prepare kids for kindergarten,” he said. “But along with that, we provide all kinds of different services for these children and their families, including health visits, dental checks, emotional support and nutrition.”

His organization provided services annually to more than 300 families in Ritchie, Lewis, Gilmer and Harrison counties, Keith said.

“I think what people miss a lot of times about our program is that not only are we reaching out and serving some of the most vulnerable populations in the state of West Virginia, but we’re also providing parents that support for them to go to work and be productive citizens in our communities,” he said. “That’s really important.”