WASHINGTON — Head Start programs across the nation that cater to thousands of children may face closures due to being temporarily unable to access federal funding. This issue initially arose following President Trump’s failed attempt to freeze federal grants last week.
Last week, administrators from various Head Start programs found themselves locked out of a government portal that provides access to funding for the early education initiative aimed at supporting underprivileged families and children. Similar issues were reported by Medicaid administrators.
While the website became functional for many operators after a brief period, over a week later, 45 Head Start grant recipients still reported difficulties accessing their funds, according to Tommy Sheridan from the National Head Start Association. Some organizations were left awaiting payment for invoices submitted over a week prior, a task that should typically require only four to five hours to process.
Such financial delays can severely impact Head Start’s operations, which predominantly rely on federal funds released weekly or bi-weekly. For instance, a nonprofit organization in Michigan overseeing 17 Head Start centers had to close for a day due to a lack of funds to pay its staff. Operations resumed promptly once the funds were released.
Additionally, in Wisconsin, the National Centers for Learning Excellence, which serves more than 200 children and their families, had to shut down for an entire week and let go of employees due to unavailability of funds. They planned to reopen on Wednesday after receiving the necessary financial aid.
This disruption has caused significant hardship for families relying on these Head Start facilities, as Bill Walsh, the operations director, pointed out. “They cannot go to work, or they have to scramble to find alternative care for their children, whether it be with relatives, neighbors, or other potentially unlicensed arrangements,” he said.
At least a dozen additional grant recipients within Wisconsin also encountered financial access issues. Other centers in Pennsylvania pondered over potential closures if they could not secure funding shortly.
“If this issue remains unresolved, I fear we will witness more centers shutting their doors,” warned Jennie Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.
This funding disruption coincided with a sweeping directive from the Trump administration aimed at freezing federal grants, which consequently created turmoil across various governmental sectors. The White House later clarified that this order was not meant to encompass Head Start or Medicaid programs. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to the Medicaid access issues as a technical outage and has not determined if the Head Start payments were intentionally disabled.
As of Tuesday, the White House had yet to respond to inquiries regarding the matter.
