Edward M. Kennedy: “S. 2000, the Human Services Reauthorization of 1994, is an important step in developing a sensible family policy, and I…”

“S. 2000, the Human Services Reauthorization of 1994, is an important step in developing a sensible family policy, and I urge the Senate to approve it. Bipartisan members of the Labor and Human Resources Committee in the Senate and the Education and Labor Committee in the House have worked closely with the administration in developing this legislation, which reauthorizes several of our Nation's most important antipoverty programs. Our goal is to provide a high-quality Head Start experience to all eligible families in need. This legislation reaffirms our belief in the core elements of the program. It takes what is good about Head Start and makes it even better. It enhances program quality and extends the program's reach, making it more responsive to current needs. Low-income children and families today face enormous challenges. They are struggling to survive in neighborhoods plagued by violence, drugs, and lack of opportunity. Since we last reauthorized Head Start in 1990, the number of children growing up in poverty has increased dramatically--and so has the pressure on Head Start programs to help turn the tide. This is most true of the youngest and most vulnerable children--those under the age of 3. The General Accounting Office recently reported a 26-percent increase in the number of infants and toddlers growing up in poverty. Today one out of every five children is born into poverty--twice the rate for the elderly.”