RADFORD, Va. – The Head Start program has been in the New River Valley for 60 years.
“If she did not have this year in Head Start, I don’t think she would be ready for kindergarten,” said Tiffany Fields, whose daughter is in Head Start.
The program prepares preschool-aged children for school for families who need extra help.
Now, the proposed federal budget for Head Start is zero dollars, leaving the future in question.
“I can’t imagine a community without Head Start. Families will be facing some very hard decisions,” said Stephanie Bryson, COO of New River Community Action and helps lead the Head Start program.
Bryson said right now, they have been given no answers on what the future could be.
“It’s not eliminated, but it currently has 0 dollars,” she said. “It’s been challenging for us to plan next programming year because we don’t know what that funding looks like.”
Parent Tiffany Fields said she has seen how much Head Start has helped her child and makes childcare like this actually feasible.
“I have multiple sclerosis, and I can’t work,” Fields said. “Most preschools around here charge like 2,3,4-500 dollars a month for preschool.”
She said if it goes away, she knows it would affect the families who need it most.
“If we didn’t have this program and had to pay, she wouldn’t be able to go to preschool,” Fields said.
Susie Buraker, who helps run the Head Start program in Radford, said programs like Head Start are so important for families, and if they were to go away, it would hurt children here and across the United States.
“Our parents are really concerned about what are we going to do if you all are not here next year?” Buraker said.
They said now they are just hoping to get some answers soon, so they know if they can continue operation.