WASHINGTON – Head Start preschool programs for low-income U.S. children are scrambling to cope with funding cuts and delays, as they feel the squeeze of President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting drive.

Local administrators and advocates for the program that serves nearly 800,000 children and families say the closure of five U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offices that oversee the program in Chicago, Boston, New York, Seattle and San Francisco has led to delays in processing grant applications.

Adding to the strain, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency released $943 million less in congressionallyapproved funding for distribution through April 15 compared with the previous year, according to congressional Democrats’ most recent estimates.

The delays left hundreds of families searching for costly private care for children through the age of five, according to Head Start association executives in Wisconsin, Illinois and Washington state.

Administrators have sought bank loans or other lines of credit to meet their payrolls, as grant approval deadlines loomed.

Congress appropriated $12.27 billion to the program in the fiscal year ending September 30. That funds 17,711 Head Start centers across the country, according to Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association.

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Standing on a playground usually filled with frolicking children, U.S. Senator Jack Reed visited the Head Start center in Cranston last week to publicly push back against potential federal cuts that would effectively eliminate the early-education program for disadvantaged youngsters.

Reed was surrounded by parents, teachers and state-wide educators as he warned that President Trump’s purported plan to wipe out funding for the decades old, national program would hurt families and children alike. 

“We know that investing in early education – especially in comprehensive, high-quality programs like Head Start – pays off,” Reed said.

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With millions in federal funding at risk, Rhode Island could lose programs that service our most vulnerable children and families, writes Head Start coach 

Head Start and Early Head Start are essential building blocks of Rhode Island’s early education system, serving over 2,300 young children from low-income families across the state — families who could not otherwise afford child care or early education services. 

For 60 years, this proven program has provided high quality educational, health, nutrition, and developmental supports to infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children.

A large body of research finds that children who participate in Early Head Start and Head Start are better prepared for success in school; show better social emotional, language and cognitive development; are more likely to be immunized; are more likely to receive dental checkups; and are more likely to graduate high school and attend college. And these benefits continue on to the next generation, with research showing that the children of Head Start graduates are more likely to finish high school and attend college are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system.

Put simply, Head Start works. It is a wonderful program that we should all be proud of. It provides a hand-up to struggling families and gives our state’s youngest and most vulnerable learners the Head Start they need to succeed in school and life. 

Unfortunately, a recently leaked Trump administration budget memo calls for the complete elimination of Head Start funding. This proposed cut, if adopted by Congress, would impact 750,000 children across the country who are benefiting from Head Start, according to the National Head Start Association. Without Head Start, these children will fall behind where they need to be to succeed in school, and families will be left without a stable and reliable source of child care. This will lead many to forgo working to stay at home to care for their children, hurting parents’ economic prospects, and impacting employers. Here in Rhode Island, we stand to lose $38 million in federal funding for our Head Start and Early Head Start programs who serve our most vulnerable children and families, including young children experiencing homelessness or in foster care. Head Start is also a critical part of our state’s home visiting system, child care system, and high-quality pre-K system, with 40 percent of the Rhode Island‘s pre-K classrooms operated by Head Start agencies.

Here in Rhode Island, we stand to lose $38 million in federal funding for our Head Start and Early Head Start programs who serve our most vulnerable children and families, including young children experiencing homelessness or in foster care. Head Start is also Head Start and Early Head Start are essential building blocks of Rhode Island’s early education system, serving over 2,300 young children from low-income families across the state — families who could not otherwise afford child care or early education services. For 60 years, this proven program has provided high quality educational, health, nutrition, and developmental supports to infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children. A large body of research finds that children who participate in Early Head Start and Head Start are better prepared for success in school; show better social emotional, language and cognitive development; are more likely to be immunized; are more likely to receive dental checkups; and are more likely to graduate high school and attend college. And these benefits continue on to the next generation, with research showing that the children of Head Start graduates are more likely to finish high school and attend college are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system. 

It is not an exaggeration to say that the complete defunding of Head Start would be devastating to vulnerable children and families in Rhode Island and across the nation. It is hard to understand the logic of this proposal, especially when Head Start pays such strong dividends in the form of better lifetime educational and health outcomes for kids and families who participate in the program.

One research study found that when disadvantaged children receive high-quality educational programming from birth to age 5, like Early Head Start and Head Start, the return on investment can be up to 13 percent annually. That’s an investment we should be doubling down on, not eliminating.

I could share more research and statistics on the benefits of Head Start, but I know firsthand just how powerful this wonderful, empowering program can be. Seventeen years ago, I began my professional journey with Early Head Start as a teacher. The job gave me insight into what quality care and early education really look like.

Years later, I became a mother and enrolling my son in Head Start was one of the best decisions I made. Because of what I experienced as an Early Head Start teacher, I had a unique perspective and knew he’d be in good hands.

Thanks to my background as a Head Start educator, I was able to recognize the early signs that my son had a learning disorder. Because of the program’s strong support systems, I was able to quickly get him a learning disability assessment and work with his teachers to provide the help he needed early on. Thanks to that early detection and support, my son is now thriving.

Head Start has been a full-circle journey for me and my family. It helped me grow as a student, a mother, an educator, and now as a leader of other Head Start teachers. Most importantly, it gave my son the tools to succeed.

Head Start doesn’t just change lives, it builds futures. I am living proof of that.

For the future success of hundreds of thousands of kids and families, just like mine, across the country, it is critical that Congress maintain full funding for Head Start.

Mariela Clavijo is an educational coach at Comprehensive Community Action Program’s Head Start program in Cranston, R.I.