On May 2 Jerome Underwood stood in front of his staff at Action for a Better Community to alert them of potential layoffs within its Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
“I watched people suffer,” Underwood said. “This was the worst day of my professional career.”
The nonprofit had been providing early education services for low-income families for almost 60 years, but for the first time ABC faced the possibility of losing its federal funding for those programs. Underwood said COVID-19 caused significant challenges within the organization, particularly the inability to meet staffing regulations. Almost 78 positions were vacant and, in his words, “mistakes happened.”
On July 1, Underwood again stood in front of this team again, but this time to reassure them their jobs were secure. The organization was selected by the federal Office of Head Start to receive an annual $17 million grant that is renewable over a five-year period.
“It's going to be a new and improved Head Start come September,” Underwood said.
Underwood said that in 2022, there were back-to-back instances where children under ABC's care were left unattended. The incidents raised red flags at the federal Head Start office, and for the first time in years ABC found itself in a position where it had to bid for the funding.
“We don't have an adversarial relationship with the federal government,” Underwood said. “As a matter of fact, we have a very good relationship. They hold us accountable.”
ABC sent letters to staff and parents forewarning them about the possible loss of funding.
Kelsea Kagarise’s two-year-old son, Calvin, was about to complete his first year at ABC.
“They were very thorough in what they said,” she recalls about the notice. “They also let us know, every step of the way, as things were happening. They kept us updated.”
While other parents and some staff began to look elsewhere for security, Kagarise said she remained hopeful.
“I felt like if that funding comes through I don't want to waver and give myself an out,” she said. “I want my son in the organization.”
ABC submitted over 500 pages to the federal Office of Head Start detailing how the organization planned to minimize the possibility of these issues reoccurring. That included a better curriculum for its Early Head Start program, staff retraining, and significant employee raises.
“What feels good is that we earned it back and we didn't have to beg and grovel,” Underwood said, “We put our best foot out there. We laid it all on a line.”
