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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon leaders decry, challenge new Head Start immigration restrictions
Kindergarteners at Durham Elementary School in Tigard eat a free lunch on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. Oregon leaders decried a new rule from the federal government barring youth without permanent legal status about to enter Kindergarten from enrolling in the federal Head Start program. (Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Oregon's Head Start programs are in flux after the federal government reversed a decades-long rule that allowed children 5 and younger, regardless of immigration status, to participate in the national early childhood care program that enrolls more than 12,000 Oregon children. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced changes to the Head Start program earlier this month as part of a broader shift in eligibility for benefits that he said had 'diverted hardworking Americans' tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration.' The rule undoes historical exemptions that allow immigrant families without permanent legal status access to some community-based benefits such as substance abuse programs, certain health care clinics and Title X family planning programs. The human services department estimates these changes will affect 115,000 children and families nationwide, according to a recent analysis. Oregon-specific numbers aren't available because the state's Head Start program doesn't collect information on immigration status. Nancy Perin, executive director of the Wilsonville-based Oregon Head Start Association, said the group is waiting to hear how the regulations will affect different Head Start programs, such as those tied to nonprofits, universities or public schools. Perin's understanding of the National Head Start Act is that it guarantees children enrolled in the program can remain in it until they start kindergarten. One Oregon facility estimated about a third of the children who attend would be kicked out of the program should immigration status restrictions be implemented, Perin said. 'What does that mean now? What do we do about those kiddos?' she said. 'We're just kind of in a flux.' The new federal rules also spurred a multi-state coalition of Head Start providers that includes Oregon to update an April lawsuit it filed against the Health and Human Services Department over the closure of offices and restrictions against using funds for diversity, equity and inclusion. The group argues the most recent directive lacks clarity and guidance around implementation, with their amended complaint calling the new regulation 'yet another step in defendants' attempt to hobble the Head Start program in defiance of Congress.' 'It's going to affect generations to come, not just today's kids, not just tomorrow's 5-year-olds, but there are people right now who are considering having them who are not going to have access to these supports,' said Candice Williams, executive director of the statewide Head Start nonprofit Family Forward Oregon, which is among the lawsuit's plaintiffs. 'That's going to limit their ability to even engage in becoming parents.' The department is challenging an interpretation of exemptions on immigration restrictions for certain benefits provided by the federal government, such as child care, some health care clinics, and preschool that dates to the 1990s. In a July 10 statement, the National Head Start Association said families haven't been required to document their immigration status to enroll in the program in its six-decade history. Oregon's child care shortage has been an issue lawmakers have tried to address for years. A 2023 report for Oregon's Early Learning Division found that most Oregon counties are child care deserts. Of the more than 260,000 Oregon children aged 5 and younger, 63% had all their available parents out working jobs, according to the D.C-based nonprofit First Five Years Fund. A lack of care can lead to parents losing their jobs to take care of their kids, ultimately rippling into the economy by lowering the amount of time they have to work. In the federal lawsuit, Family Forward Oregon says that a child care provider it employs has been forced to take unpaid days off of work and was instructed they would receive reduced wages 'due to funding concerns.' Another of the group's staff members informed them she would not attend a lobbying day in Washington, D.C., because of her family's mixed immigration status, Williams said. 'We're seeing our employees not be able to do their jobs,' Williams said. 'We're seeing the Oregon families who participate in our leadership development not be able to show up for fear of retribution and retaliation.' In a Friday statement, the two chairs of Oregon's Legislative Child Care Caucus acknowledged fears those cuts and changes to Head Start eligibility have caused for families, child care providers and workers. The Oregon Legislature concluded this year's legislative session with a budget that slashed $45 million in early childhood learning programs, a factor that the lawmakers said was 'causing stress in communities across Oregon.' Reps. Hòa Nguyễn, D-Portland, and Jules Walters, D-West Linn, the caucus chairs, said they would continue working to protect access to child care and investing state money in the system. 'Oregon's future depends on the well-being of our youngest learners, and the people who nurture and teach them,' they said. 'We are dedicated to advancing policies that reflect those values.' 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Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former school superintendent, nurse from King City tapped for vacant House District 26 seat
The Oregon House of Representatives on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Former school superintendent Sue Rieke Smith of King City joined the body as a representative following a Friday vote by three county commissions. (Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle) After nearly a month without representation in the Oregon House, Oregonians in Clackamas, Washington and Yamhill counties have a new state representative: former nurse and school district superintendent Sue Rieke Smith. Rieke Smith, of King City, will begin immediately in the Oregon Legislature following her appointment Friday in a 10-1 vote at a joint session of the three county commissions. She fills the seat vacated by former state Rep. Courtney Neron, a Democrat, who was appointed in early May to the Oregon Senate after the death of state Sen. Aaron Woods, also a Democrat, who represented the three counties. Oregon law requires county commissioners within a legislative district boundary to appoint a new representative within 30 days of an unexpected vacancy. The appointee must be from the same political party as the outgoing legislator. Rieke Smith's appointment to represent the more than 70,000 Oregonians in the district of mostly non affiliated voters lasts until January 2027, but she has the option of running for the seat in 2026 for a full two-year term. 'I'm a third-generation Oregonian, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. I assure you that if I'm selected, this Oregonian is ready to go to work,' Rieke Smith told commissioners Friday in her opening remarks. Prior to her appointment, she spent 25 years as a teacher, administrator and superintendent in public schools in Springfield and Tigard-Tualatin. She retired as superintendent of Tigard-Tualatin schools in 2024 after six years leading the district, among the largest in Oregon. The departure came amid growing strife over student behavior and tardiness. Before working in education, Rieke Smith was a travel nurse and public health professional, working in intensive care units. She's a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, in Tacoma, Washington, and holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy from the University of Oregon. Rieke Smith was one of three candidates nominated by the Oregon Democratic Party. Other nominees included Chelsea King, executive director of the Wilsonville-based nonprofit Oregon Health and Education Collaborative, and Mary Pettenger, a professor of politics, policy and administration at Western Oregon University. At the joint session of the county commissions, Rieke Smith answered questions about her positions on issues related to public education, senior citizens, civil liberties, housing, public safety and the justice system. She expressed support for several bills currently being considered in the current legislative session. Among them was Senate Bill 974, which would hasten housing efforts and ease some residential development and land use regulations. In response to concerns about a bill lawmakers are considering that would extend unemployment benefits to striking workers, Senate Bill 916, Rieke Smith said she recognized workers' right to strike and acknowledged potential challenges the bill could pose, vowing to seek further information about the bill's fiscal impact. 'I will not be a flamethrower, I will not engage in name-calling or finger-pointing or demonizing at someone's position,' she said in her closing remarks at the Friday meeting. 'I will be intellectually curious and seek to understand and reach across the aisle to make better policy for all.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
