Tens of thousands of children and families could be affected by the potential closure of dozens of Head Start programs if the federal government shutdown extends beyond Nov. 1.
About 134 programs in 41 states and Puerto Rico will see their operating funding cease Saturday, affecting nearly 65,000 children, or 10% of all Head Start children, according to the National Head Start Association (NHSA).
Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Ohio may see the greatest impacts, potentially affecting more than 24,000 children and more than 7,500 staff members. NHSA data sample.
Head Start is a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides early childhood education, health, nutrition, and family support services to low-income children and families.
Closing programs could mean that children under age 6 could lose access to preschool education, health services and referrals. Families could lose access to affordable child care services that allow parents to work, attend school, or receive job training.
“We are concerned that the longer the government shutdown lasts, the more likely Head Start programs will face potential closures and have profound impacts on the children and families we serve,” Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of NHSA, told ABC News. “The longer the shutdown lasts, the more that number will increase, and at the end of the day, children and families should never be put at risk due to political gridlock. Yet that is exactly what is happening right now.”
How Head Start programs could be affected
National Head Start Association
Programs struggle to find funding
Sheridan said not all of the 134 affected programs will close in November. Some are reaching out to state and local leaders and others are asking for funding from private organizations, which can cover the costs for a short period of time.
He said there are 1,600 programs across the United States, so while most Head Start programs will not be affected after Nov. 1, there are still a substantial number that will struggle to stay open or will have to close.
An HHS spokesperson told ABC News that Democrats are to blame for the government shutdown and that when the shutdown ends, the HHS Office of Head Start will work to expedite grant awards.
Central Kentucky Community Action Council’s (CKCAC) Head Start and Early Head Start, which serves 400 children at nine centers in six counties, will lose access to an $8 million federal grant on Nov. 1, Bryan Conover, executive director of CKCAC, told ABC News.
Although CKCAC’s Head Start Policy Council unanimously said it would allow the group to apply for a line of credit for approximately $1 million with a local bank, it will only allow operations to continue through Nov. 21.
“The 400 families could be put in a situation where, if we have to close our doors, they will have to choose between taking care of their children or working,” Conover said. “And so, there really are multiple pain effects that ceasing operations would cause, and we hope beyond hope that this shutdown ends very soon, that we don’t have to go through those painful conversations.”
Conover said if the shutdown extends beyond Nov. 21, it will “lead to very unfortunate situations on Thanksgiving Day.”
“If we get to November 22 and we don’t have funding available, and we have to close our doors and SNAP may not be in place yet, we will have vulnerable families who will be left without nutrition for their children, let alone education, let alone therapy, let alone other supports they need to be ready for kindergarten, let alone the impacts on families who will have to make decisions between potentially working or staying home to provide child care,” he continued.
The Ohio Head Start Association said seven providers serving more than 3,700 children are at risk of closing because their federal funding will run out on Nov. 1. The association said the closures could put 940 staff out of work.
“Every day that the shutdown continues, Ohio children and families are paying the price,” said Julie Stone, executive director of OHSA in a statement. “Head Start is not a political issue, it is a lifeline. Congress must act now to restore funding, keep classrooms open, and protect the stability of families, staff, and communities.”
Closures could affect child development
Dr. Lindsey Burghardt, scientific director of the Center for Child Development at Harvard University, said there could be negative developmental effects if Head Start programs end so suddenly.
She said these services help support children’s healthy physical and mental development through education, nutrition, the constant availability of responsible caregivers, and safe, clean places to play and learn.
Head Start programs may be the only way children receive nutritious meals, health screenings, or early intervention for developmental delays and special education.
“When you disrupt it, especially when you suddenly destabilize these services, I think you have the potential to disrupt healthy brain development, to derail healthy development of all these other organ systems,” Burghardt told ABC News.
“And that’s important, because it can alter physical and mental health in childhood, but actually, what’s really important, it can alter the health and well-being throughout the lives of those children and have really long-lasting developmental implications,” he added.
Burghardt said the longer or greater the disruption of these services, the greater the potential to negatively impact a child, which could extend throughout adolescence and decades later as an adult.
This can include poorer academic and cognitive function, as well as increased behavioral problems, Burghardt said.
He NHSA said Research has shown that Head Start programs have both short- and long-term impacts, including reduced chronic absenteeism in middle school, improved high school graduation rates, increased higher education enrollment and completion, and reduced reliance on public assistance.
Sheridan said families, including parents and caregivers, may also feel the negative impacts of closing Head Start programs.
“Families who are eligible for Head Start often work multiple jobs,” she said. “They may be in college, community college or technical college or job training programs… So families who are in Head Start are doing everything they can to try to improve their situation and that of their children. “They’re counting on Head Start to be there so they can navigate whatever they need to do to support their families.”
Sheridan continued, “Without Head Start, many parents won’t have an affordable child care option. They may be forced to leave their jobs. They may… cut back on hours they could be working, not go to school, different things like that, horrible decisions that families don’t want to have to make… and it’s going to be incredibly destabilizing and challenging.”
