Head Start advocates brace for possibility of Trump eliminating funding : NPR

The Trump administration is considering eliminating funding for the Head Start program, dedicated to free kindergarten care services. This is a move that one advocate says is “devastating.”

“The proposal does not reflect financial responsibility. It reflects our future investments,” Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Association (NHSA), said in a statement Thursday. “Eliminating funds for Head Start is devastating. It will be a direct attack on the most at-risk children in our country, their happiness and their families.”

USA TODAY I quoted an official who is well-versed in the plan. and Washington Post We cited an administrative document outlining the Department of Health and Human Services’ rough budget over the next fiscal year. Among them, Head Start’s funds will be zero. NPR has obtained a copy of the document, but its credibility has not yet been verified.

NPR contacted the White House for comment but did not immediately respond.

Headstart is an early learning programme established in 1965 and is under the umbrella of the Department of Human Health Services. The organization offers free services for parents up to 5 years old and children up to 5 years old, including health screenings, meals, snacks and financial literacy curriculum.

In 2022, HeadStart received funding to serve more than 800,000 families.

Kayla’s head of household has worked at Head Start in West Virginia for the past 12 years. She visits dozens of families each week with children with children between the newborn and the age of three.

“Many of the families I work with are in ruins and they are asking questions,” she said. “They are worried about what this means for the services they are currently receiving.”

The head of the household said she began preparing herself in January for x to come down to the organization after the election.

“I was extremely nervous and already had doubts that this might come out, so I was definitely shocked, frightening, nervous,” she said. “I love my job, but I have a passion for giving back and helping people break the cycle and do long-term fixes instead of quick fixes. But my family needs these programs.”

She has encouraged social media people to express concern to local council representatives and to sign petitions circulating by the NHSA.

Headstart was led by President John F. Kennedy’s brother-in-law Sgt Schreiber as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s poverty countermeasure program.

Schreiber’s daughter, journalist Maria Schreiber, has denounced the budget proposal on X, write: “My father started Head Start. Head Start has changed the lives of millions of families. Head Start work is essential for today’s children and working families. This is a potential disaster. Don’t let this happen!”

Several democratic politicians also had problems with the idea.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent caucusing Democrats, I said X: “No, Mr. Trump. By eliminating Head Start, which provides early education to over 800,000 children, you won’t be able to pay the tax credit for billionaires. Your budget proposal is morally indecent. It has to be defeated.”

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers I said“The Trump administration is back to their words once again, and now the prime minister of the program where more than 10,000 children and their families across our state are dependent on, is at risk. We will fight against actions that ruin our children and families.”

“The Head Start Programme will provide essential parenting for hundreds of thousands of families in the most vulnerable communities across our country.” Hawaii Senator Massie Hirono said. “Early Childhood Education, Developmental Screening, Food, Health Care – Cutting, thanks to Trump.”