Due to a January funding freeze that paused most federal grants and loans, some Head Start programs across the country were temporarily prevented from accessing their federal funding. Still, the effects of these delays linger as the programs face an uncertain political landscape.
Head Start is a federal program that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health support and family services to children from low-income families.
Some Head Start programs reported delays in receiving federal funding, even though federal officials said the programs should not be affected by the freeze. It was later blocked by a federal district court judge shortly after its announcement.
After the freeze, there was initially a “sense of crisis” among R.I. Head Start programs, said Michelle Mathiesen, the Rhode Island Director for the New England Head Start Association. The collective concern was “is our funding going to be frozen? What does that mean for our programs? What does that mean for our children? What does that mean for our families?” she said.
Although these programs have other sources of income, those in Rhode Island rely mostly on the federal Head Start grants, Mathiesen said.
Tiana Ochoa Teo, vice president of programs and director of Head Start at Children’s Friend, emphasized the importance of federal funding in allowing Head Start to operate.
“Most of the program is primarily funded by the federal government,” she said. “Should there be any cuts or any freeze to funding, our ability to have the program will be pretty much compromised altogether.”
“Without that funding, it certainly would be crisis-level,” Mathiesen said.
Head Start centers across the state also employ teachers, social workers and other support staff, so the loss of funding could impact their income, creating a ripple effect, she added.
Losing funding “would put many people out of work and then, in turn, cause a national crisis,” Jessica DeMerchant wrote in an email to The Herald. She works as a family advocate for CHILD Inc., a child care center that receives federal Head Start funding.
“When the fate of these critical programs is uncertain, it creates a level of anxiety and instability for families who are working hard to provide the best life possible for their children,” Ochoa Teo said.
She said there are already roadblocks to providing child care in the state due to “a tremendous shortage of credentialed and trained staff in the field” of early education, which she attributed to low wages and a lack of interest.
At Children’s Friend, Ochoa Teo said they are still working on identifying alternative streams of revenue as a contingency plan in case federal funding is threatened again.
Despite an uncertain national landscape, Mathiesen is maintaining a resilient mindset.
“We’re trying to remain really positive and realize that we also have huge support in the state,” she said. “Our senators and our representatives, both at the local and at the national level, understand the importance of (Head Start).”
