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.

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.

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.

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. [4]

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. [5] Children who attend Early Head Start and transition to Head Start are more ready for kindergarten than those who do not. [6]

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. [7]

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. [8]

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.

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

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