Head start warns of cuts.

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) has warned that the Bush administration is using a series of enrollment cuts and new regulatory requirements in an attempt to dismantle the Head Start program. The administration's proposed 2009 budget--which will require congressional approval--would slice more than 14,065 Head Start child slots, according to the White House. That makes it the first enrollment reduction to be included in a president's formal budget proposal since the program's launch in 1965, the NHSA said. In addition, cuts of more than $10 million in 2008 funding left many Head Start programs underfunded, the NHSA said. California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Ohio, and Florida stand to lose the most slots for Head Start enrollment, the group said.