Head Start’s Future Uncertain as Federal Funding Cuts Continue

By: Julian Ho

USA Today reported that an official familiar with federal budget proposals indicated that the White House’s fiscal year 2026 federal funding blueprint does not allocate any money toward Head Start and actually lists Heads Start among many programs to be eliminated. See Zachary Schermele’s article in USA Today here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2025/04/11/trump-proposal-eliminating-head-start/83045346007/

Head Start is a federally funded early childhood and pre-K program that serves infants, toddlers, and preschool children from low-income families. It also provides prenatal services through Early Head Start.

The USA Today article acknowledges that a presidential budget is similar to a wish list as only Congress can allocate federal funding. Recently, cuts to federal funding have led to mass layoffs in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the closure of several Office of Head Starts regional offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle. The regional offices will be consolidated into the five remaining offices.

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The National Head Start Association (NHSA) released a statement on April 1st stating, “closing these regional Head Start offices could create delays in essential program support and weaken the system that has successfully served millions of children for decades.” NHSA’s Executive Director, Yasmina Vince, also pointed out that over 1 million parents rely on Head Start for childcare and would not be able to go to work.

According to the United States Senate’s Committee of Finance, on April 3rd 2025, legislation called The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act was introduced by Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The legislation hopes to build a stronger and more equitable childcare system by expanding guaranteed child care funding by increasing annual funding for the Child Care Entitlement to States (CCES) to $20 billion per year (a $16.45 billion increase per year). Read more about the legislation here: https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-warren-lead-colleagues-to-introduce-legislation-to-improve-access-to-quality-affordable-child-care-for-american-families

More than ever, now is the time for individuals to reach out to their elected official to express concerns about issues that impact their daily lives, such as the availability and access to high-quality affordable childcare. Websites such as https://5calls.org/ are designed to help constituents quickly identify their elected officials, have their voices heard, and influence policy.