Head Start has been something of a sacred cow in Washington since its creation in 1965. The $12.3 billion federal program provides pre-school services to nearly 790,000 low-income children each year. But a report released by the Government Accountability Office reveals serious negligence and fiscal mismanagement in Head Start, putting at risk the very children the program claims to help.
The report studies Head Start programs that are operating under interim management, meaning those whose former managers 鈥 usually local agencies or nonprofits 鈥 gave up or lost their federal grants due to poor performance. Interim managers are appointed by the Office of Head Start, or OHS, and run the programs until new grant recipients can be found.
According to the report, OHS oversight of these interim-managed programs is woefully inadequate. Between January 2020 and June 2024, 28 programs were due for oversight. OHS monitored only half of them, 鈥渓eaving it unaware of documented and potential child safety incidents and other concerns.鈥
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The report says one local center director saw 鈥渁 teacher grab a child by the hood of their coat and slam them to the ground.鈥 At another program, the interim manager told a center director not to inform parents about mold in school, 鈥渆ven though children and staff had developed respiratory symptoms, and one child had a known allergy to mold.鈥 While state licensing agencies documented 15 major child-safety violations between August 2019 and March 2024, OHS鈥檚 records noted only nine of them.
OHS also failed to monitor fiscal waste. Despite fewer than half of all available seats at interim-managed programs being filled in the 2022-23 school year, OHS 鈥渘ever enforced enrollment standards or required Head Start funds to be returned for children not served.鈥 In fiscal 2022, interim-managed programs spent 72% of the total pool of taxpayer-funded grants, though student enrollment was 47%.
Where did the money go? Local staff at several programs reported purchases of costly equipment that didn鈥檛 work or sat unused. One interim manager agreed to pay 鈥渞ent that was more than four times鈥 what it should have been for the classroom space. Another program 鈥渇requently ran out of diapers, baby wipes, soap, and other essentials,鈥 requiring teachers to buy supplies with their own money. ...
A 2012 study from the Department of Health and Human Services found that any advantages enjoyed by Head Start students mostly vanish by the end of third grade. Moreover, reports of Head Start鈥檚 lack of financial oversight and child safety risks have circulated for decades. But lawmakers don鈥檛 like the optics of opposing early childhood education, which is why the program鈥檚 funding keeps growing.
Perhaps this is about to change. Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, reacted to the report, writing, 鈥淲e have an obligation to protect these children and end this gross negligence immediately.鈥
The GAO wants Head Start to enhance its oversight standards and fiscal accountability. But if it can鈥檛 prove its results are worth $12.3 billion, it may be time to make some cuts 鈥 or perhaps simply pass the money down to the states, which are already better equipped for educational oversight.
