The ongoing government shutdown is causing significant disruptions across the country, particularly impacting Head Start centers, which are crucial for the nation’s most vulnerable children. As these centers are forced to close, many working parents are left in a lurch, scrambling to find alternative child care options.

The shutdown has resulted in the delay of federal grant payments that were expected on November 1. In response, numerous Head Start centers have either temporarily closed or are managing to stay open with the help of emergency funding provided by local governments and school districts. The impact on children is severe, as those enrolled in Head Start typically come from disadvantaged backgrounds, including low-income families, homeless situations, or foster care. These children rely on the program not only for early education but also for vital nutritional and therapeutic support.

Sarah Sloan, who manages Head Start centers in Scioto County, Ohio, expressed her concerns about the closures. “Children love school, and the fact that they can’t go is breaking their hearts,” she said. The staff at these centers had to inform families of their plans to close, starting Monday. Sloan highlighted the broader implications, stating, “It’s hampering our families’ ability to put food on the table and to know that their children are safe during the day.”

Initially, a few Head Start programs were affected when they did not receive their anticipated grants in October. However, the situation has now escalated, with 140 programs still awaiting their crucial annual federal funding. Collectively, these programs serve approximately 65,000 preschoolers and expectant parents.

Among the programs shutting down are 24 Migrant and Seasonal Head Start centers located across five states. These centers specifically cater to the children of migrant farmworkers, offering extended hours to support the demanding work schedules of the parents.

Children attending the centers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma recently came home with fliers warning of possible closures, along with other parent notifications. Those centers serving more than 1,100 children will now remain closed until the shutdown ends, said East Coast Migrant Head Start Project CEO Javier Gonzalez. About 900 staff members across the centers also have been furloughed.

In the absence of other options for child care, some parents’ only option may be to bring their young child to the fields where they work, Gonzalez said.

Pause in food aid compounds struggles for Head Start families

Many of the families that qualify for the federal preschool program also depend on food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps. That program also was on track to run dry of money due to the shutdown, although a pair of federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to keep the program running with emergency reserve funds.

That means many Head Start families have been worried about food aid, along with the child care they rely on to make ends meet. A day without child care means a day without work for many parents — and a day without pay.

In Kansas City, Missouri, Jhanee Hunt teaches toddlers at a Head Start site, the Emmanuel Family and Child Development Center, where her 6-month-old son is cared for in another classroom. The center said it can scrape up enough money to stay open for a few weeks, but the money won’t last much beyond November.

At dropoff, she said, parents often are wearing uniforms for fast food restaurants like Wendy’s and McDonald’s. Some work as certified nurse assistants in nursing homes. None have much extra money. The most urgent concern right now is food, she said.

“A lot of the parents, they’re, you know, going around trying to find food pantries,” she said. “A parent actually asked me, do I know a food pantry?”

More than 90% of the center’s families rely on SNAP food assistance, said Deborah Mann, the center’s executive director. One construction company offered to help fill the grocery carts of some families that use the center. But overall, families are distressed, she said.

“We’ve had parents crying. We’ve had parents just don’t know what to do,” Mann said.

Some centers stay open — for now

Launched six decades ago as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, Head Start programs provide a range of services beyond early education, such as medical and dental screenings, school meals and family support to children from low-income households who can’t afford other child care options.

The initiative is funded almost entirely by the federal government, leaving it with little cushion from funding disruptions.

Some that have missed out on grant payments have managed to remain open, with philanthropies, school districts and local governments filling in gaps. Others are relying on fast-dwindling reserves and warn they can’t keep their doors open for much longer.

“If the government doesn’t open back up, we will be providing less services each week,” said Rekah Strong, who heads a social services nonprofit that runs Head Start centers in southern Washington state. She’s already had to close one center and several classrooms and cut back home-based visiting services. “It feels more bleak every day.”

In Florida, Head Start centers in Tallahassee and surrounding Leon County closed Oct. 27, but then reopened the next day thanks to a grant from Children’s Services Council of Leon County. The local school district and churches have stepped up to provide meals for the children.

“It takes a village to raise a child, and our village has come together,” said Nina Self, interim CEO of Capital Area Community Action Agency.

But children in rural Jefferson and Franklin counties, where the agency runs two small Head Start centers, were not as lucky. They’ve been closed since late October.