Your voice matters. Sign to support Head Start over billionaires!
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Dear Friend,

Three weeks. It’s been three WHOLE WEEKS of a Republican controlled and
orchestrated government shutdown as Republican leadership refuses to
prioritize health care over billionaires. A shutdown that actively puts
vital programs like Head Start at risk, jeopardizing the child care access
of 65,152 children.

[ [link removed] ]*Urge Congress and the Trump Administration to IMMEDIATELY end the
shutdown, fix the health care crisis. and restore the funding for Head
Start that families need!

What’s happening?

With their Big, Ugly Bill, Republicans have created a health care crisis.
Medicaid has been slashed, Medicare has been targeted, hospitals and
health centers are closing, and health care premiums are about to double.

Republicans—who control the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, and the Oval
Office have shut down the government instead of negotiating with Democrats
to fix this health care catastrophe. The House isn’t even in session
because Republican in charge have sent those legislators home. In other
words, we are in the middle of a full-on Republican tantrum that is
hurting families. And the pain doesn’t stop there - this insidious and
completely avoidable government shutdown threatens to close 140 Head Start
programs if it extends past November 1st. [1]

The shutdown is already compounding existing financial strains on local
Head Start programs, which have seen flat federal funding since FY24
(meaning no adjustments for inflation, etc.). Due to this, programs are
already experiencing a default cut due to rising prices. Many Head Start
providers are struggling to hire and retain teachers while costs for
health insurance, transportation, utilities, and other important operating
items continue to rise.

[ [link removed] ]*Urge Republican leaders in Congress to stop holding Americans' health
care hostage while leaving child care hanging. End the shutdown
IMMEDIATELY!

Due to the way Head Start grants are funded, six programs in three states
serving 6,525 children are already operating without federal funding,
instead depending on emergency local resources to stay open. Yet by
November 1st another 134 programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico,
serving 58,627 children, will also face decisions about imminent closure
due to lack of federal funds. [2] This means thousands of children and
their families are at risk of losing access to Head Start, and in many
cases, their only source of child care, in less than two weeks. Families
need Head Start and families need health care! What they don’t need is a
harmful shutdown that locks families out of the most fundamental
necessities.

[ [link removed] ]*Time is running out! Urge Congress to act now to restore health care,
end the shutdown, and eliminate the threat of Head Start closures.

The importance of child care programs like Head Start cannot be
overstated. Launched in 1965 as a comprehensive child development program,
Head Start has proven to be the most important social and educational
investment in children, families, and communities the United States has
ever undertaken. Over the last 60 years, it has provided quality child
care and critical services to nearly 40 million children and their
families. [3] As it is, too many parents across the country cannot afford
child care, with the annual cost of center-based child care for an infant
exceeding the cost of housing as well as the cost of in‑state tuition at a
public four‑year university. [ [link removed] ]

Head Start enables parents to work and/or go to school, underscoring the
importance not only for kids, but also for the financial sustainability of
families and our economy. It significantly supports the development of
early childhood mental health (like social-emotional development),
language, and cognitive development. Studies have shown that children who
have positive and engaging interactions in their earliest years are more
likely to enjoy good physical and mental health over their lifetimes. They
are also better able to experience, regulate, and manage their
emotions—key skills for later school readiness. [ [link removed] ] Children who attend
Early Head Start and transition to Head Start are more ready for
kindergarten than those who do not. [ [link removed] ]

Continuity of care is an absolutely critical part of healthy child
development. Closures or interruptions in service disrupt family stability
and economic security, cutting off access to nutritious meals, physical
and mental health checkups, and other vital supports Head Start provides.
On top of this, in many rural and frontier communities, Head Start is the
only reliable early learning and child care program available to families.
[ [link removed] ]

The shutdown is already compounding existing financial strains on local
Head Start programs, which have seen flat federal funding since FY24
(meaning no adjustments for inflation, etc.). Therefore these programs are
already experiencing a default cut due to rising prices. Many programs are
struggling to hire and retain teachers while costs for health insurance,
transportation, utilities, and other important operating items continue to
rise. Moreover, recent policies that take away legal status from
immigrants are having devastating impacts on the child care workforce, of
which at least 21 percent are immigrants. [ [link removed] ]

[4]TELL CONGRESS: Protect Head Start and stop robbing families of health
care. End the Government Shudown NOW!

For decades Head Start has experienced a bipartisan commitment to our
nation's children. In fact, this year marks the 60th anniversary of Head
Start! Yet instead of celebrating progress, we are facing threats to a
program that benefits and has benefitted millions and millions of children
and their families.

We will not sit by silently as this administration plays politics and
decimates the crucial programs that allow parents to work, provide for
their households and contribute to their communities. We are in this
together and we will not give up speaking out for our nation’s families.

Thank you for never backing down and taking action with us!

- Nadia, Lauren, Nina, Hanna, Donna, Kristin, and the whole MomsRising.org
& MamásConPoder Team

P.S. [5]Do you have a current Head Start story as a parent, provider or
loved one? Don't forget to share it with us to help save Head Start from
shutdown shenanigans!

 

[1] [2] [6]Extended Government Shutdown Puts 65,152 Head Start Children
and Families at Risk
[3] [7]Debunking Myths About Head Start: How the Program Promotes
Opportunity and Strengthens Families, Communities, and Economies
[4] [8]New Report Finds Fewer Child Care Providers and Increased Prices,
Highlighting Need for Significant Federal Investment in Child Care
[5] [ [link removed] ]Healthy Children Are Ready to Learn
[6] [ [link removed] ]The Power of a Head Start for Every Child
[7] [ [link removed] ]Rural Americans who rely on Head Start worry about its future:
‘Without free childcare I couldn’t work’
[8] [ [link removed] ]Nearly Half a Million Early Childhood Educators Are Immigrants


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