Families could start losing access to Head Start if shutdown continues

Families could start losing access to Head Start if shutdown continues

Briefly

"Beginning Nov. 1, more than 65,000 children will be at risk of losing access to Head Start, the federal early-learning program for low-income families. That's because federal funding for individual Head Start programs cannot be disbursed while the government is shut down. The leaders of 134 local Head Start programs, as well as another half-dozen whose funding lapsed on Oct. 1, are now debating how long they can go before closing their doors, says Tommy Sheridan of the National Head Start Association."

"Nationally, Head Start serves roughly 750,000 infants, toddlers and preschool-age children, providing not just childcare and early learning but also free meals, health screenings and family support. Local Head Start programs are funded annually, though at different times of the year. Some programs get their money on Oct. 1, others on Nov. 1 and so on. As such, Sheridan says, if the shutdown lasts until December, still more programs would see their funding run out."

"Head Start closures could hit Florida's migrant farm workers Daniel Jaime manages six Head Start centers across three Florida counties as part of the East Coast Migrant Head Start Project a nonprofit that serves the children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers. "It's a pretty hard deadline," Jaime says of Nov. 1, when his centers will have to close unless their funding is somehow extended. "We're all hoping for a miracle that things change.""