Schools and Head Start agencies could work together more closely. All of these things and many more could be accomplished without major changes in the way in which we finance the services we provide. After many years as an advocate of financing reform, I have become convinced that the obstacles to services integration are as much professional, organizational, and political as they are a function of the absence of this or that federal waiver, pooled financing scheme, or other new financing arrangement. Without question, reforming financing will strengthen our efforts, but it is not a magic cure. Moreover, if our service system is poorly arranged, it is also underfunded.
Welfare checks provide support at a fraction of the federal poverty level.
Staff salaries in community agencies yield turnover rates of 40 percent or more. And 15 percent of the population in the average state lacks health insurance coverage. It hardly needs saying that you can't pool, capitate, insure, or guarantee funding with nothing. Reforming the financing of services for children and families will not solve the underfunding problem. That said, there is little question but that more flexible funding arrangements and more permanent funding streams would help in our efforts to make services for children and families more effective.