Sherrill Helps Reintroduce HEADWAY Act to Lower Child Care Costs for NJ Families

WASHINGTON, DC — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) joined Representative Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) to reintroduce the Head Start Education and Development Workforce Advancement and Yield (HEADWAY) Act. This bipartisan bill will help address staffing shortages at Early Head Start programs, and in turn, expand access to high quality, affordable early childhood education.

The HEADWAY Act is the first pillar in Rep. Sherrill’s Protecting Our Jersey Quality of Life Agenda, a legislative package she is beginning to introduce this week to make life easier and tackle the biggest challenges facing New Jersey families.

“Head Start is a critical program that ensures parents can find high-quality early education and get back to work without breaking the bank. However, I hear from Head Start and other child care providers across New Jersey time and again about the challenges they face trying to find staff, limiting the number of families they can serve which creates financial hardship for parents and providers. The HEADWAY Act will address staffing shortages at Early Head Start programs and provide job opportunities to New Jerseyans pursuing a career in early childhood education. This bill is an important step in the right direction as we work to lower costs and expand high quality child care access to every New Jersey family,” said Rep. Sherrill

“As a dad of six, I understand firsthand the critical role early childhood development programs play and the need to expand access for students and families in need,” said Rep. Ciscomani. “With 22 Head Start programs across 500 locations in Arizona, these programs are critical to the well-being of our families and students. However, too often families in need are unable to access these programs due to the shortage in the childcare workforce. The HEADWAY Act makes great strides to address the staffing shortages by investing in our educators and ensuring that students and families in need have access to these vital programs.”

“The HEADWAY Act will empower Early Head Start programs by reducing entry-level hiring barriers and supporting new early childhood educators in their professional development. Encouraging programs to ‘grow their own’ will help ensure they have the qualified staff necessary to serve as many eligible children and families as possible,” said National Head Start Association Executive Director Yasmina Vinci. “We applaud Reps. Ciscomani and Sherrill for introducing this bipartisan legislation which will provide a critical first professional stepping stone for staff while improving Early Head Start’s capacity and ensuring we remain competitive and adaptable in an ever-changing workforce market.”

The HEADWAY Act would allow Early Head Start classroom teachers to teach while earning their Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials. Doing so would give Head Start programs greater hiring flexibility while supporting education professionals and increasing program spots available to families in need of child care. The legislation has been endorsed by the National Head Start Association, and championed by Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA).

Rep. Sherrill is a fierce advocate for child care and early education programs which are essential to New Jersey’s economy and workforce. She introduced the Child Care for Every Community Act, to ensure access to high-quality, affordable child care and early learning opportunities by establishing a network of federally-supported, locally-administered child care options modeled after the Head Start program. Additionally, she is fighting for the Child Care Stabilization Act, which would extend critical federal grants to child care facilities in New Jersey and across the country and has co-led multiple letters to Congressional leadership urging the inclusion of critical child care funding in upcoming appropriations packages.