Head Start program in Louisiana urged to stop discrimination against Latino families
Louisiana鈥檚 Jefferson Parish Head Start program is denying impoverished Latino preschoolers access to the program 鈥� violations of federal laws and regulations that have led the Southern Poverty Law Center to demand the program stop this discrimination.
Louisiana鈥檚 Jefferson Parish Head Start program is denying impoverished Latino preschoolers access to the program 鈥� violations of federal laws and regulations that have led the Southern Poverty Law Center to demand the program stop this discrimination.
In a letter聽sent on behalf of several Latino families today, the 人兽性交 describes how the Jefferson Parish Community Action Program conditions the enrollment of 3-year-olds in Head Start on a family鈥檚 ability to provide proof of citizenship, among other questionable requirements.
These families were denied an opportunity to submit applications for the program, made to jump through extra hoops in order to apply, or didn鈥檛 apply at all because they could not meet the requirements.
鈥淩equesting irrelevant documents during the enrollment process serves no purpose other than to deter many impoverished families 鈥� i.e., the very intended beneficiaries of the program 鈥� from ever applying,鈥� 人兽性交 staff attorney Jennifer Coco writes in the letter.
The 人兽性交鈥檚 clients meet the federal requirements to participate in the program, but Head Start personnel refused to accept their applications without proof of a Louisiana photo ID, even though they submitted utility bills proving residency in Jefferson Parish. 聽
Head Start is a federally funded program that promotes the school readiness of pre-school children from low-income families. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stipulates that eligibility for the program is based solely on age, family income and residency in the area served by the program. Under federal guidelines, residency can be determined by 鈥渨hatever reasonable documentation is appropriate to confirm it.鈥�
鈥淗ead Start provides children from low-income families with an opportunity to access an early childhood education, which national studies conclude is an indicator for future success,鈥� Coco said. 鈥淥ur clients are eligible for the program under the law and deserve an opportunity to apply for the program. We are urging Jefferson Parish Head Start officials to immediately rescind its discriminatory registration policies and restore our clients to their original positions in the registration pool.鈥澛�
