COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Thousands of children in Ohio could soon lose access to early learning and child care as the federal shutdown drags on.
“Every day that the shutdown continues, it is Ohio’s families and children who are paying the price,” said Julie Stone, executive director of the Ohio Head Start Association. “And Head Start is not a political issue. It is a lifeline for the families we serve.”
Seven Head Start programs in Ohio are running out of funding Saturday, leading to possible closures and furloughs across the state.
“Our people are very creative when it comes to making things work, but they can’t run a program without having money to do it,” Stone said. “And that money needs to be provided either through a proposed budget or a continuing resolution that gets funding back on track.”
Head Start is a federally funded school readiness program that provides early learning, nutrition and family support services to low-income Ohio families with children from pregnancy to age five.
“We’re going to run out of money after the 31st, and that’s scary,” said Susan Craddock, executive director of Coshocton County Head Start.
The doors are still open at Coshocton County Head Start, but the clock is ticking. A recent community donation will keep it open until November 14th, but it is only a momentary solution.
“We can’t run our program on donations alone,” Craddock said. “It costs about $50,000 a week to keep us open, and that’s just paying the staff.”
The Coshocton County Head Start program currently has approximately 60 employees and serves 140 children. According to those in charge there, they were already in crisis mode due to inflation, and now the shutdown is pushing the program to a potential breaking point.
“Some of our kids get their food for the day,” Craddock said. “We feed breakfast, lunch and a snack before they go home.”
Across Ohio, six other Head Start programs, which along with Coshocton County serve more than 3,700 children, face the same dilemma. Executives say for many families there is no other affordable child care option to consider.
“Disruptions in services mean children are missing out on important learning,” Stone said. “This means parents who rely on Head Start for child care in order to go to work must make decisions about whether to go to work or care for their child.”
No modern federal funding could also put more than 900 Head Start employees across the state out of work.
“They show up every day with dedication and professionalism, even when they don’t know what to expect,” said Jamie Adkins-Darr, Coshocton County Early Head Start Education and Disability Manager. “They don’t know if their next paycheck is safe.”
Head Start leaders say children can’t have their development interrupted because of political gridlock, so they need Congress to act now.
“Children are not pawns in the game the government is playing,” Craddock said. “Children are our future and we are currently playing with their lives.”
Informal talks are still taking place behind the scenes on Capitol Hill as lawmakers look for a way to end the government shutdown, but so far there have been no formal negotiations between Republicans and Democrats.
