Dozens of kids enrolled in Action for a Better Community's Head Start program will lose several weeks of school this year. That's thanks to the billions of dollars in across the board sequestration cuts.
James Norman, the CEO of ABC, says they've have to cut $715,000 from the program by January 2014.
To adjust, Norman says they’ve had to make some tough decisions in order to retain its staff members and the children in the program. So, Norman says a total of 9 weeks have been cut from its Early Head Start and regular Head Start programs.
This leaves hundreds of parents looking for alternative arrangements. To accommodate the disruption to those families, Norman says they have nearly 40 family workers and developers to assist them finding other avenues for their children.
“It's going to be difficult because in some cases the alternatives might cost money they don't have. But we'll try to minimize it by helping them to connect with other services."
Norman says the first of the affects will be felt in the middle of June. He says that's when their half-day program ends one week early, impacting about a thousand families.
In the fall, about 1,200 families will be affected - as the regular Head Start program will start three weeks late. Five weeks will be cut from the Early Head Start program.
Head Start is a federal program that offers educational and family services to low income children.