NEW: Trump Admin Withholding Nearly $1 Billion in Funding for Head Start—Crunching Centers Nationwide and Forcing Devastating Closures

Data shows steep decline in Head Start funding going out the door so far this year—as Trump administration hollows out offices running the program and eyes eliminating it outright

Washington, D.C. – As President Trump finalizes his proposal to eliminate Head Start, shutters half of the regional offices running the program, and fires scores of staff who ensure Head Start centers can serve kids and families—new data shows his administration has issued nearly $1 billion less in federal grants to Head Start centers nationwide so far this year compared to the same period last year (a steep -37% decline year-over-year).

The Trump administration’s withholding of nearly $1 billion in Head Start funding is impacting Head Start centers nationwide—already forcing center closures, which hurt families and teachers, and risking many more. Just this week, news broke that a Head Start program in Lower Yakima Valley, Washington state, is indefinitely closing—impacting more than 400 young children and 70 staff—because it has not yet received the Head Start award it typically receives and depends on from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In response, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), said:

“As he works to give more tax breaks to billionaires like himself, Donald Trump is doing everything he can to destroy Head Start—without a care in the world for the hundreds of thousands of working families across the country who depend on it.

 
“So far this year, Trump has slow-walked $1 billion in funding from going out the door to Head Start programs, and we are beginning to see the devastating consequences: centers closing, kids kicked out of the classroom, teachers losing their jobs, and entire communities losing out. In Washington state, hundreds of kids will be kicked out of Head Start programs—sending their parents scrambling—if this isn’t immediately rectified.

“But Trump isn’t content to simply hold up funding for Head Start—he wants to eliminate the program altogether and rip pre-K and essential support away from families nationwide. Democrats won’t let a proposal like that go anywhere in Congress—but make no mistake: Trump is already doing all he can to wreck the program on his own, withholding funding and shuttering the offices and firing the people who get local Head Start centers what they need to serve families. Now, we’re seeing the ruinous consequences. I’m going to keep fighting back with all I’ve got—because we’ve got to keep mobilizing and opposing this administration’s cruel agenda to help billionaires and hurt working families.” 

Head Start programs’ grants are generally renewed at the same time each year, and Head Start programs depend on these strict funding cycles to continue serving kids and families. In fiscal years 2024 and 2025, Head Start has been funded at $12.27 billion. In 2024, $2.548 billion in Head Start funding went out from the start of the year through April 15. But during the same period this year, only $1.604 billion has so far gone out—a $943 million, or -37%, decline. Any delays in funding going out the door can have devastating consequences for Head Start programs.

A state-by-state breakdown of the Head Start funding being slow-walked by the Trump administration is below:

DATA SOURCE: HHS

_________________________________________________________________

Head Start currently serves over 750,000 kids nationwide, and the program has served nearly 40 million children and their families nationwide since its inception in 1965. There are over 17,000 Head Start centers nationwide that help kids and families thrive, and these centers are particularly important in serving rural communities with fewer options for care.

A state-by-state breakdown of the number of kids and families served by Head Start is available HERE.

Since taking office, President Trump has gutted the offices that keep Head Start centers and child care programs across the country running. In late February, the Trump administration fired scores of staff at the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Head Start and Office of Child Care. Earlier this month, Trump continued to hollow out HHS, including by shuttering half of the regional offices at the Office of Head Start, which are responsible for ensuring high-quality Head Start services are available to families nationwide. The Trump administration has failed to articulate how it will ensure that uninterrupted services are available to families and that appropriate oversight will be carried out despite gutting the very offices charged with these responsibilities.

###

• Print
• Email
• Tweet