Rep. McDonald Rivet, Democratic Women’s Caucus Call on HHS to Withdraw Dangerous Plan to Overhaul Head Start

WASHINGTON— Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08) and the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) sent a letter, calling on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to withdraw a proposed rule slashing 90% of Head Start Program Performance Standards, which would harm Head Start children, families, and classrooms.

“Head Start makes sure children from low-income families and children with disabilities have a loving place to learn and grow. There are decades of research proving Head Start kids do better in school and better in life,” said Congresswoman McDonald Rivet. “This Administration’s proposed overhaul will wreak havoc on what makes Head Start so special. It’ll make it harder for kids to learn, harder for teachers to do their jobs, and harder for working parents to make ends meet. We can’t let it go forward.”   

For over 60 years, Head Start has provided child care and social services for children from low-income families, children with disabilities, dual language learners, and children experiencing homelessness. HHS’s proposed rule would eliminate over 1,400 regulatory provisions and largely defer rules and guidelines to states and local programs. These changes would severely diminish the quality of Head Start services, including: 

• Weakening protections for children with disabilities.
• Eliminating federal limits on class size and staff-to-student ratios.
• Rolling back credential requirements for Head Start staff and teachers.
• Reducing health and safety protections for children.
• Cutting program hours.

Leading the letter alongside Congresswoman McDonald Rivet are DWC Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) and DWC Members Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), and Lateefah Simon (CA-12). 70 Members of Congress signed the letter.

The letter from the lawmakers reads, in part, “This proposed rule guts an essential early childhood program and its services for hundreds of thousands of women and families nationwide, which would increase their costs and burden to replace those services. In today’s environment of rising costs, it is cruel to make life more difficult and expensive for these families.”

A copy of the letter can be found here. 

Prior to serving in elected office, Congresswoman McDonald Rivet served as Executive Director of Michigan Head Start.