Children play with colorful wooden building blocks. (Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Funding for numerous Head Start programs was in jeopardy as the government shutdown continued Monday with no end in sight.
Unless an agreement is reached to end the ongoing funding shortfall that began Oct. 1, more than 65,000 children in 140 local Head Start programs in 41 states and Puerto Rico will no longer receive their federal grants beginning Nov. 1, according to the National Head Start Association. The federal government spent around $12.3 billion on the program in the 2025 financial year.
Community programs that receive Head Start funding have different start dates for the availability of their grants.
Head Start helps fund approximately 1,600 community programs that have exceeded 790,000 children in the program year 2023-2024.
The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and that agency’s employees who would pay out these awards are currently furloughed due to the closure.
Six programs serving 6,525 children did not receive funding as of Oct. 1 and are already relying on outside resources and local funds to stay afloat. If the closure continues beyond Friday, an additional 134 programs serving 58,627 children will lose federal funding.
Head Start provides early childhood education, nutritious meals, health screenings and other support services to low-income families.
It is a discretionary program that requires congressional approval each year, making it particularly vulnerable to government shutdowns.
“There’s just so much instability … that’s caused by this,” Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the advocacy group National Head Start Association, told States Newsroom. “And while we are hopeful and will do everything we can to try to minimize the direct impact on children and families, there will definitely be a long-term impact that will be felt.”
Standstill break
The shutdown began Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year, when Congress failed to appropriate money for federal programs.
Democrats have voted against bills that would temporarily reopen the government as they call on Republicans to negotiate a solution to expiring tax credits for health insurance premiums purchased on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace. Republicans have refused to negotiate while the government is closed, leading to an ongoing stalemate.
In a statement Monday, Emily Hilliard, a spokeswoman for HHS, blamed Democrats for the looming lack of funding.
“More than 58,000 children will lose access to Head Start funding and programs on November 1st due to the Democrat-led government shutdown alone,” she wrote.
Hilliard added: “The Trump administration is committed to reopening the government to the American people.”
“collateral damage”
Sheridan criticized the political landscape, which is likely to lead to a lack of funding.
“I can’t stress this enough – this is purely political,” Sheridan said. “This has nothing to do with the fact that Head Start is not an effective program or that the people in Congress and the administration do not support Head Start.”
He noted the “strong bipartisan support” the program has received since its inception in 1965.
“We are just collateral damage in a larger fight that will hurt working families and children,” Sheridan added.
Sheridan noted, “Generally, when programs don’t have access to federal funds, they can try to stay open for a certain period of time depending on the size of the program, but they will essentially use other funds and then reimburse those costs later, similar to an accounting maneuver, to be able to keep their programs running.”
He added: “That’s why we’re seeing so many programs either closing or having to consider closures or something like that, and why … we’re just urging Congress and the administration to stop letting children and families be the collateral damage of a political fight.”
Implications for local Head Start programs
For programs that have to close due to the loss of federal funding, Sheridan pointed to several impacts.
Children would lose access to fit meals and other resources. Families would be left without affordable child care options, forcing some to quit their jobs or reduce their working hours. Community members could experience economic impacts if employees working in Head Start programs lose their pay or jobs.
“We also have community partners that we rely on for services, and they rely on us for their businesses – small businesses, contractors, suppliers, other small businesses, things like that – but they rely on their Head Start contracts, and if we can’t pay the bills, they can’t rely on us for what they need,” he said.
The program is already fluctuating
Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the program was already experiencing chaos before the government shutdown, including reports of Delays in accessing approved fundingregional office closures and layoffs HHS Office of Head Start.
This office too said the fellows in March that it “will not authorize the use of federal funds for training and technical assistance (TTA) or other program expenditures that promote or participate in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.”
A federal judge in September The administration is temporarily blocking it Policy aimed at preventing immigrants living in the United States illegally from accessing Head Start programs.
Trumps now Budget request for fiscal year 2026 calls for Head Start funding to be maintained at last year’s level of about $12.3 billion.
The Senate Budget Committee passed its annual bill to fund HHS, including Head Start, back in July, allocating about $12.4 billion for the program $85 million augment.
The relevant House panel also approved and agreed to its HHS funding bill in September Application from the administration Maintain Head Start funding at $12.3 billion in fiscal year 2026.
Sheridan noted that the program has weathered challenges before, whether natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic or previous government shutdowns.
“Our programs are absolutely committed, hopeful and work tirelessly to minimize these impacts on children and families, but we cannot run a program based solely on hope and goodwill,” he said. “We need Congress and we need the President to come together to keep our classrooms open and also ensure that Head Start funding can stay consistent with the rising costs that we have seen over the last year.”
