Immigration and Head Start Eligibility

The major federal public benefits programs have always left some non–U.S. citizens out of eligibility for assistance from the programs. Since their inception, programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program), nonemergency Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and its precursor, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), have been inaccessible to undocumented immigrants and people in the United States on temporary visas.

However, the 1996 federal welfare and immigration laws introduced an unprecedented new era of restrictionism. Prior to these laws’ enactment, lawful permanent residents of the U.S. generally were eligible for assistance in a manner similar to U.S. citizens. After these laws’ enactment, most lawfully residing immigrants were barred from receiving assistance under the major federal benefits programs for five years or longer. Even where eligibility for immigrants was preserved by the 1996 laws or restored by subsequent legislation, many immigrant families hesitate to enroll in critical health-care, job-training, nutrition, and cash-assistance programs due to fear and confusion caused by the laws’ chilling effects. As a result, the participation of immigrants in public benefits programs decreased sharply after passage of the 1996 laws, causing severe hardship for many low-income families who lacked the support available to other low-income families.

This webinar focuses on eligibility and other rules governing immigrants’ access to Head Start programs.

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IS THERE A LIMIT TO HOW MANY TIMES I WATCH A RECORDED WEBINAR?

Yes and no. When you purchase the recorded version of a webinar, you are purchasing access to it for a set period of time, but you can watch it as many times as you like during that time. Depending on the webinar, you will have 30 - 60 days of access (older webinars are set to 30 days, newer webinars now have a longer access period). The length of time will be listed on your confirmation email; it will run from the date of purchase or the date of the webinar, whichever is later. If you purchase both the live and recorded versions of a webinar, the access period for the recording will not begin until the live webinar runs. If your access period ends and you need more time to view the webinar(s), contact us at mdavis@hsuniversity.org.

Once posted to your session, you can view anytime on-demand during the access period identified in your purchase confirmation and in your account. We typically retire our webinars after a year or two, but we may archive materials sooner if there are major legal changes that impact the substantive content of the webinar.