Central Pa. Head Start programs to still provide support despite possible federal changes

The Trump administration is trying to overhaul standards for Head Start, the early childhood education program for low-income families. Experts and parents are concerned the changes will make it less effective. The proposed changes would limit bureaucracy and give states more control. This would increase the ratio of children to teachers, reduce mandatory hours, require English-only education, and cut administrative costs from 15% to 5%. Shawnee Hooper is the executive director of Capital Area Head Start, which serves Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry counties. She says they will do what's best for the children, even if guidelines are less strict. Capital Area Head Start has been doing this since 1988, and we will continue to serve the community as we have been since then, for the last 30-plus years. These proposed changes will not affect how we provide care for our community at this time. Experts say it isn't clear if the federal government will require larger classes by cutting funding or slowing applications. The proposed guidelines have a 60-day comment period. It could take six months to a year before new standards take effect. In Harrisburg, I'm Katie Knoll. WITF News.