Lawmakers urge reversal of Head Start office closure in New York

WAER | By Robert Beck

Published April 11, 2025 at 1:07 PM EDT

Gillibrand, Lawler, and Gillen press for plan to replace shuttered Head Start services

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representatives Mike Lawler and Laura Gillen are urging federal health officials to reverse the closure of New York’s regional Head Start office.

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., they demanded a plan to replace lost services and ensure continued support for over 50,000 children in New York who rely on Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

It was part of the elimination of half of the ten regional offices across the country.

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Robert Beck

Bob Beck, a veteran media professional, currently serves as a part-time editor/host at WAER Public Radio and an adjunct professor at Syracuse University. Beck retired as News Director at Wyoming Public Radio in 2022 after 34 years. During his time, Beck won 5 regional Edward R. Murrow awards and 5 Public Media Journalists Association awards for reporting. He also won 11 PMJA awards for the news and public affairs program Open Spaces. He was awarded the Wyoming School Bell award for education reporting and was part of two Emmy Award winning television productions. You can find him on X under the name @butterbob.

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