Children playing with colorful wooden blocks. (Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Funding for dozens of Head Start programs hung in the balance as the government shutdown continued Monday with no end in sight.
According to the National Head Start Association, if an agreement is not reached to end the ongoing funding pause that began Oct. 1, more than 65,000 children enrolled in 140 community-based Head Start programs in 41 states and Puerto Rico will not receive federal grants as of Nov. 1. The federal government spent about $12.3 billion on the program in fiscal year 2025.
Community programs receiving Head Start funding have different start dates for grant availability.
Head Start helps fund approximately 1,600 community programs that have served over 790,000 children in the 2023–2024 program year.
The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the agency’s employees who would pay these awards are currently on furlough due to the suspension of operations.
Six programs serving 6,525 children did not receive funding on October 1 and are already relying on external resources and local funds to stay afloat. If the shutdown continues last Friday, another 134 programs that serve 58,627 children will lose federal grant funding.
Head Start provides early education, nutritious meals, health screenings, and other support services to low-income families.
It is a discretionary program and is subject to congressional approval each year, making it particularly vulnerable to a government shutdown.
“It creates so much instability,” Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association advocacy group, told States Newsroom. “And while we are hopeful and will do everything we can to minimize the immediate impact on children and families, no matter what, the impact will be long-term.”
Lockdown impasse
The shutdown began on Oct. 1, at the beginning of the fiscal year, when Congress failed to allocate money for federal programs.
Democrats voted against bills that would temporarily reopen government operations, asking Republicans to negotiate a solution to expiring tax credits for health insurance premiums purchased through the Affordable Care Act platform. Republicans refused to negotiate during the government shutdown, leading to a stalemate.
In a statement on Monday, Emily Hilliard, an HHS spokeswoman, blamed Democrats for the looming funding shortfall.
“More than 58,000 children could lose access to Head Start funding and programs on November 1 solely because of a Democrat-led government shutdown,” she wrote.
Hilliard added that “the Trump administration is committed to reopening the government to the American people.”
“Collateral Damage”
Sheridan criticized the political landscape that will likely lead to a lack of funding.
“I can’t emphasize enough – this is purely due to politics,” Sheridan said. “It has nothing to do with Head Start not being an effective program or people in Congress and the administration not supporting Head Start.”
He pointed to the “strong bipartisan support” the program has received since its launch in 1965.
“This is just collateral damage in a larger fight that will harm working families and children,” Sheridan added.
Sheridan noted that “if programs don’t have access to federal resources, generally speaking, they can try, depending on the size of the program, to stay open for a period of time, but essentially they will use other funds and then they will recoup those costs in the future, sort of an accounting maneuver, to be able to continue operating the programs.”
He added: “That’s why we see so many programs either closing or needing to be reconsidered or things like that, and that’s why … we just urge Congress and the administration to stop making children and families a side effect of political fighting.”
Implications for local Head Start programs
For programs that must close due to loss of federal funding, Sheridan pointed to several impacts.
Children will lose access to fit meals and other resources. Families would be deprived of affordable childcare options, forcing some people to quit their jobs or reduce their hours. Community members may feel economic impacts if workers working in Head Start programs lose paychecks or jobs.
“We also have community partners that we rely on for services, and they rely on us for business — small businesses, contractors, suppliers, other small businesses and things like that — but they rely on their Head Start contracts and if we can’t pay their bills, they can’t count on us for what they need either,” he said.
The program is already developing
Under President Donald Trump, the program was in chaos even before the government shutdown, including: delays in accessing approved grantsclosing of regional offices and layoffs at HHS Office of Head Start.
This office too he told grant recipients in March that it would “not approve the use of federal funds for any training and technical assistance (TTA) or other program expenditures that promote or participate in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.”
Federal judge in September temporarily blocked the administration a directive that aimed to prevent immigrants living in the United States illegally from accessing Head Start programs.
Meanwhile, Trump Budget proposal for 2026 calls for maintaining Head Start funding at approximately $12.3 billion from the previous fiscal year.
The Senate Appropriations Committee in July, it passed an annual bill to fund HHS, including Head Start, and allocated $12.4 billion to the program, roughly An boost of $85 million.
The relevant panel in the House also approved an HHS funding bill consistent with the Act in September administration request maintaining Head Start funding at $12.3 billion in fiscal year 2026.
Sheridan noted that the program has already operated in the face of challenges such as natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and previous government shutdowns.
“Our programs are absolutely committed, hopeful and work tirelessly to minimize the impact on children and families, but we cannot run a program based on hope and goodwill alone,” he said. “We need Congress and the president to come together to keep classrooms open and ensure that Head Start funding stays in line with the rising costs we have seen over the last year.”
