[SeeGov Enhanced] Durham commissioners push back on Head Start overhaul, launch child care task force

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Durham County commissioners voted Monday night to oppose a proposed federal overhaul of Head Start, warning that it could make it harder for local families to enroll and weaken the services children receive.

At the same meeting, they established a task force focused on child care for children from birth through age 3 and expanded a study of possible future uses for three Durham Public Schools properties.

The federal proposal would replace much of the current Head Start rulebook. The U.S. Administration for Children and Families says its changes would reduce paperwork, give local programs more flexibility, and put more resources into direct services. Durham commissioners and local providers say several of those changes could instead erode the program's quality and shut out families who need it most.

The board approved a letter for submission to the Federal Register before the Oct. 6 public comment deadline. The proposed rule has not taken effect.

“It is really like a dismantling of what Head Start has become over decades and decades of trying to make the program stronger and stronger and better and better,” Commissioner Wendy Jacobs said during the discussion.