mr. chairman , i yield myself the balance of the time .  let us make this absolutely clear .  advice is nice .  we just went through this in high-intensity drug trafficking areas where we tried to take the voting power away and we resisted that in congress .  power comes from voting , not advise .  this strips the parents of their power and lets them give their opinions .  this is a tremendous reversal for either side of the aisle to make of the number one parent advisory program in america .  there are not financial problems with the parent councils .  the financial problems were with the agencies that were granted to and the boards .  for fraud , they need to be held accountable .  this bill does that .  do not take the power away from the parents .  i have also received these letters which help explain my concerns .  dear mr .  mark souder : my name is chris wallace sr .  and i am a parent of 3 children .  two of which have been enrolled and ongoing participants in cani 's headstart program , my third child is going into her 2nd grade year with adams elementary , fort wayne community schools .  i am currently the policy council president , and the vice-president of milc ( males involved leading children ) , and my wife and i are repeatedly volunteering for cani ( in-kind ) .  i have received the volunteer of the year award from cani , and i have also received a certificate of recognition from the city of fort wayne , for my ongoing commitments with cani .  currently i am looking forward to another successful year with my involvement with cani , milc , and introducing milc along with all pro dads into the fort wayne community school system .  which brings me to my disappointment with the news that some of these programs , most importantly the parent involvement initiative may be withdrawn from cani 's headstart programs .  i would like for you and those involved with this decision to understand the importance of parent involvement .  it has not only allowed for me to be more involved in the decisions that affect my children , it has also allowed me to be involved in some of the decisions that affect my community .  these programs allow parents to understand more how important education , family and social development is to their family , and the community around them .  i believe that these programs empower parents , and give them leadership skills that they may never learn elsewhere .  i can attest to this , for i have learned many leadership , mentoring , and role model skills .  i also have learned how important i am to the community and the development of my children , and my peers children .  i believe it would be an injustice to take this away from so many who are currently involved and those in the future that have yet to benefit .  please pass on our plea , meaning the parents , employees , and even more important our children , that you work for keeping the current programs well established within cani 's headstart program .  this will continue to allow us to provide a good start to our future leaders .  on behalf of parents of cani headstart .  sincerely , chris wallace , sr. , september 18 , 2005 .  dear congressman souder : i am writing to urge you to support the restoration of full authority to parent policy councils in head start reauthorization legislation .  it is my observation that parents provided with a meaningful governing role in their children 's head start education gain valuable skills that will help them to proactively support their children 's education in elementary , middle , high school and beyond .  the personal growth of parents involved in the head start program is a natural consequence of their participation in head start governance .  weakening or eliminating this role will eliminate a valuable training resource for parents and will make them less effective in supporting their children 's future education .  i have been a community representative on the cani head start policy council in fort wayne for two years .  one of the most rewarding benefits of my participation on the policy council has been to watch the growth and development of the male involvement committee .  this group provides many opportunities for fathers , grandfathers , uncles and other adult males to interact significantly with their children in positive ways .  this is particularly significant in low-income communities where children need positive adult male role models .  thank you for your consideration of these issues .  i hope that my views will be addressed in your vote for the reauthorization of head start .  sincerely , indiana pta , hammond , in , july 11 , 2005 .  to whom it may concern : i am writing about the head start program and its importance to families .  the head start program is a vital part of the education process .  the program offers opportunities early in the lives of children to build skills that will be needed in school and in life .  research shows that the sooner children are in a structured educational environment ; the better their performance is throughout their formal education .  i became involved in head start in 1995 when my son entered the program and have continued to volunteer/work with head start though the years .  i have served as a site chairperson , a member of the policy committee and currently serve as a community representative .  it is because of the parent involvement component of the head start program that parent involvement became so important in my life .  it is because of these beginnings that i continue to advocate for children on all levels .  for many families , access to head start is the only way for their children to have any type of educational experience prior to elementary school .  many of these children continue on to kindergarten because they have a head start in education and their parents realize how important early intervention is .  since kindergarten is not mandated in indiana , many children come to school for the first time when entering the 1st grade .  these children are not ready to work at their grade level and come to school at all developmental levels .  as president of the indiana pta , i know how important the head start program is to children and families .  it is critical that services like this continue and be adequately funded for our children .  it is important that monies be made available for early intervention efforts across the board .  if we do n't take care of our chi1dren today ... ..  our children wo n't take care of us tomorrow .  some of the issues that indiana pta will be focusing on are : early intervention , literacy ; parent involvement , advocacy and drug use .  respectfully , dee jones , 