Since its founding in 1965, the federal preschool program has offered poor children and their parents comprehensive services ranging from health care to parenting education. Preliminary data from the first nationwide appraisal of the program show that Head Start youngsters do better on some intellectual, behavioral and health measures than similar children not enrolled in Head Start. But some critics say the program should dispense with health care and parental education in order to focus on pre-academic skills. To improve Head Start's performance, the Bush administration proposed turning it over to the states, but Congress refused; instead it wants to require half of all Head Start teachers to obtain B.A. degrees or higher by 2011. Meanwhile, states are launching their own preschool programs, raising new questions about whether Head Start - now serving some 900,000 youngsters - should be under federal or state control.

Marcia Clemmitt is a veteran social-policy reporter who joined CQ Researcher after serving as editor in chief of Medicine and Health, a Washington-based industry newsletter, and staff writer for The Scientist. She has also been a high school math and physics teacher. She holds a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences from St. Johns College, Annapolis, and a masters degree in English from Georgetown University.