Headstart serves nearly 1 million of our most vulnerable children each year, children affected by poverty.  Unfortunately, for some of these children, getting a head start isn’t happening after their enrollment.  According to a previous report by the Department of Health and Human Services, nearly a quarter of Headstart grant programs had reported safety concerns including abuse or lack of supervision and thats just the reported incidents.  Far too often, staff deny witnessing reportable incidents and investigations are closed. Adverse childhood experiences and trauma affect brain development and have negative long term consequences.  According to the World Health Organization, younger children are more likely to suffer abuse than their peers.  Not only did I attend a Headstart program as a child, but I was employed by a grantee and had the opportunity to get firsthand classroom experience, and held many conversations with concerned colleagues.  During my employment, I encountered and reported multiple instances of child maltreatment. These incidents included, yelling, belittling, threats,  unrealistic expectations like sitting still and silent at carpet activities, withholding recess, kids crying themselves to sleep or isolated during required rest period instead of being offered a quiet activity, ignored, yanked, pulled, and subject to an authoritarian need for control.  I suffered a continual moral dilemma after coming forward with concerning reports and being treated as if I were overreacting.  I often wondered if the lack of concern from management fostered the desensitization of staff’s ability to distinguish unacceptable treatment or if I was hypersensitive. A former supervisor advised me to keep advocating for the kids and subsequently was fired for reasons unknown. I brought recorded evidence to management and was asked to delete it.  It was said that they couldn’t fire staff accused of concerning behavior, due to a lack of staff and need to keep classrooms open for grant requirements.  There were many who felt defeated in their attempts at speaking for the vulnerable, after witnessing and reporting staff maltreatment of enrolled children and then being placed on a performance improvement plan for failure to cooperate as a team member, or simply moved to a different classroom and expected to turn a blind eye as management seemed to do; going so far as to misplace concern that reporting staff will be labeled a “tattle tale”.  It is my opinion that a zero-tolerance policy should be in place if a provider/employee engages in a neglectful, abusive, or concerning act with the the little people we are entrusted with caring for.  Mandating cameras in all Headstart rooms will help keep children safe by providing transparency of incidents and reinforce that the most vulnerable among us deserve respect, equality and ceaseless advocacy.  Please petition for video recording in Headstart to aid in the safety and accountability of students and staff.  Too often these kiddos don’t realize that the treatment they receive is unacceptable, causing devastating, negative consequences for self worth and esteem.  Help be their voice!