About 17,000 children in Washington state are served by Head Start preschools, providers said.

They said 1000 children statewide could lose their place in class because of the 5.3 percent budget cuts required by the sequestration.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Patty Murray (D)-Washington said, “Thousands of Washington students could lose access to Head Start services and basic education resources.”  

Studies show Head Start students do better in school and are less likely to be involved in crime in the future.  That’s because Head Start services go far beyond the classroom.

“Also health and nutrition services, family support services, mental health services, disability and special education services,” according to Luba Bezborodnikova, Assistant Superintendent of Head Start services for the Puget Sound Educational Service District.

Head Start parent April Savage had two boys attending the Educare Head Start program in White Center.

“My boys felt so happy and loved that they just thrived so much. And now they are really successful in kindergarten and first grade,” Savage said.

Though her sons have graduated, Savage now works at Educare as a teaching assistant and faces furloughs because of the cuts.

“I try not to worry. We just keep coming to work every day and hopefully we still have jobs to come to,” said Savage.