In commencing this Hearing, the Honorable Michael N. Castle, Chairman, Subcommittee on Education Reform, Committee on Education and the Workforce, states that Head Start is a good program that can be made stronger. He acknowledges that, despite the many success stories in the program, the Subcommittee has also heard troubling stories about program weaknesses, including a US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report warning the financial control system in the Federal Head Start early childhood program is flawed and failing to prevent multi-million dollar financial abuses that cheat poor children, taxpayers, and law-abiding Head Start operators. Representatives of several high quality programs participating in Head Start were invited as witnesses to share their stories and help the Subcommittee better understand what factors can help the program succeed. Contents of this document include: (1) Hearing Held on April, 14, 2005; (2) Statement of Members; (3) Statement of Witnesses; and (4) additional materials.