Don't Shutdown Head Start!

TAKE ACTION: Head Start over Billionaires!

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 our health care crisis. 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, jeopardizing the child care access of 65,152 children!

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.

Urge Congress to ACT NOW to restore health care, end the shutdown and eliminate the threat of Head Start closures!

Dear member of Congress,

We are over 3 weeks into the shutdown and the American people urge you to immediately end the government shutdown, reverse devastating healthcare cuts and restore the funding for Head Start that families need to access critical care for their children.

Currently, 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. Which means 65,152 children and their families are at risk of losing access to Head Start in less than two weeks. Time is running out and we urge Congress to take action to restore healthcare, end the shutdown and eliminate the threat of Head Start closures.

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 upon millions of children and their families. Launched in 1965 as a comprehensive child development program, Head Start is the most important social and educational investment in children, families, and communities the United States has ever undertaken. For decades this program has embodied a bipartisan commitment to our nation's children, and has provided high-quality child care access to nearly 40 million children and their families. As is, too many parents across the country cannot afford child care, with the annual price 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.

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. Head Start 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. Children who attend Early Head Start and transition to Head Start are more ready for kindergarten than children who do not attend Head Start.

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

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, programs are already experiencing a default cut due to rising prices. Many Head Start centers 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.

We call on Congress to do the right thing for our families and our country by opening the government immediately and moving the legislative process forward to pass a funding bill which restores healthcare access and prevents disastrous cuts to the Head Start program.

Sincerely,

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