By Steve Gehlbach, WSB-TV
ATLANTA — Local elected leaders fear that federal budget cuts could mean the end, or significant cuts, for the Head Start program.
More than 3,000 children across metro Atlanta rely on the program through the YMCA.
Justice Buchanan told Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach that Head Start has made major differences in her 4-year-old daughter’s life.
“She’s changed so much,” Buchanan said.
But she’s worried that it may not still be there when it’s time for her 2-year-old son to start participating.
"Head Start is a huge, huge impact on these kids, the parents and well, and the teachers,” she said.
The YMCA of Metro Atlanta has 3,000 kids in the Head Start program at 10 centers, making them the largest provider in the state.
The program provides services for everyone from working families to the homeless to children with mental health needs and those in foster care. It’s funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Congresswoman Lucy McBath toured the Chattahoochee Early Learning Center on Friday after seeing a proposal that would eliminate the program.
“We are fighting back in Congress with every legislative tool that’s afforded us, but what I want our families to know is they’re not powerless. They have more power than they realize, and that is their voice,” McBath said.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not commented on the budget proposal, but Democrats like McBath are vowing to fight any cuts.