Oregon leaders decry, challenge new Head Start immigration restrictions

Yahoo

6 days ago

Kindergarteners at Durham Elementary School in Tigard eat a free lunch on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. Oregon leaders decried a new rule from the federal government barring youth without permanent legal status about to enter Kindergarten from enrolling in the federal Head Start program. (Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon's Head Start programs are in flux after the federal government reversed a decades-long rule that allowed children 5 and younger, regardless of immigration status, to participate in the national early childhood care program that enrolls more than 12,000 Oregon children.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced changes to the Head Start program earlier this month as part of a broader shift in eligibility for benefits that he said had 'diverted hardworking Americans' tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration.'
The rule undoes historical exemptions that allow immigrant families without permanent legal status access to some community-based benefits such as substance abuse programs, certain health care clinics and Title X family planning programs.
The human services department estimates these changes will affect 115,000 children and families nationwide, according to a recent analysis. Oregon-specific numbers aren't available because the state's Head Start program doesn't collect information on immigration status.
Nancy Perin, executive director of the Wilsonville-based Oregon Head Start Association, said the group is waiting to hear how the regulations will affect different Head Start programs, such as those tied to nonprofits, universities or public schools.
Perin's understanding of the National Head Start Act is that it guarantees children enrolled in the program can remain in it until they start kindergarten. One Oregon facility estimated about a third of the children who attend would be kicked out of the program should immigration status restrictions be implemented, Perin said.
'What does that mean now? What do we do about those kiddos?' she said. 'We're just kind of in a flux.'
The new federal rules also spurred a multi-state coalition of Head Start providers that includes Oregon to update an April lawsuit it filed against the Health and Human Services Department over the closure of offices and restrictions against using funds for diversity, equity and inclusion.
The group argues the most recent directive lacks clarity and guidance around implementation, with their amended complaint calling the new regulation 'yet another step in defendants' attempt to hobble the Head Start program in defiance of Congress.'
'It's going to affect generations to come, not just today's kids, not just tomorrow's 5-year-olds, but there are people right now who are considering having them who are not going to have access to these supports,' said Candice Williams, executive director of the statewide Head Start nonprofit Family Forward Oregon, which is among the lawsuit's plaintiffs. 'That's going to limit their ability to even engage in becoming parents.'
The department is challenging an interpretation of exemptions on immigration restrictions for certain benefits provided by the federal government, such as child care, some health care clinics, and preschool that dates to the 1990s. In a July 10 statement, the National Head Start Association said families haven't been required to document their immigration status to enroll in the program in its six-decade history.
Oregon's child care shortage has been an issue lawmakers have tried to address for years. A 2023 report for Oregon's Early Learning Division found that most Oregon counties are child care deserts. Of the more than 260,000 Oregon children aged 5 and younger, 63% had all their available parents out working jobs, according to the D.C-based nonprofit First Five Years Fund. A lack of care can lead to parents losing their jobs to take care of their kids, ultimately rippling into the economy by lowering the amount of time they have to work.
In the federal lawsuit, Family Forward Oregon says that a child care provider it employs has been forced to take unpaid days off of work and was instructed they would receive reduced wages 'due to funding concerns.' Another of the group's staff members informed them she would not attend a lobbying day in Washington, D.C., because of her family's mixed immigration status, Williams said.
'We're seeing our employees not be able to do their jobs,' Williams said. 'We're seeing the Oregon families who participate in our leadership development not be able to show up for fear of retribution and retaliation.'
In a Friday statement, the two chairs of Oregon's Legislative Child Care Caucus acknowledged fears those cuts and changes to Head Start eligibility have caused for families, child care providers and workers.
The Oregon Legislature concluded this year's legislative session with a budget that slashed $45 million in early childhood learning programs, a factor that the lawmakers said was 'causing stress in communities across Oregon.' Reps. Hòa Nguyễn, D-Portland, and Jules Walters, D-West Linn, the caucus chairs, said they would continue working to protect access to child care and investing state money in the system.
'Oregon's future depends on the well-being of our youngest learners, and the people who nurture and teach them,' they said. 'We are dedicated to advancing policies that reflect those values.'
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