Trump administration plans overhaul of antipoverty program for children

While officials say proposed revisions to Head Start program will encourage more enrollment, advocates say it will undermine the program

The Trump administration has said it plans to overhaul Head Start, tossing out many of the regulations that are the hallmark of the early education program for the nation’s neediest children.

Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federally funded preschool program, said on Thursday the proposed changes would encourage more local decision-making, but the proposal has sparked alarm across the Head Start community, where advocates say it threatens the backbone of the antipoverty initiative.