Atkinson Gates to testify in D.C. on Head Start program

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 | 9:28 a.m.

Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates is scheduled to address a U.S. Senate subcommittee on issues of early childhood education today.

Atkinson Gates, a Democrat, was invited to testify before the Senate's Education and Early Childhood Development subcommittee by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

Concerned by reports of financial abuse and waste by local Head Start grantees, Congress recently asked the Government Accountability Office to examine the accountability system in the Head Start program. The subcommittee hearings are an extension of that probe.

"This hearing is extremely critical," Atkinson Gates said. "I can't stress the tremendous impact federal Head Start programs have on children and families in the United States."

Clark County is a partner in operating several Head Start programs in the valley including the Yvonne Atkinson Gates Early Childhood Development Center, Reynaldo Martinez Early Childhood Development Center, Cecile Walnut Pre-Development Recreation Center, Spring Valley Early Childhood Development Center, Henderson Early Childhood Development Center and the Reach Out Daycare Learning Center.

Another early childhood development center is being planned for Atkinson Gates' district at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue. The center is slated to open its doors in 2006.