We learned early this morning that the Region V Office of Head Start was closed today and all of the federal staff were placed on administrative leave until June without any warning. The Region V Office oversees Head Start programs in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. The Office supports approximately 284 grants, enrolling roughly 115,000 children and their families. The federal employees that were terminated today are our key partners and colleagues. We are incredibly saddened and deeply concerned about the impacts this could have to our program operations.
TheRegional Head Start offices operate under the Office of Head Start (OHS), which is part of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Their main responsibilities include grant oversight and funding distribution, program monitoring and compliance including child safety, and providing training and technical assistance. The Regional Office is a critical link to maintaining program services and safety for children and families.
We have received calls throughout the day from panicked Head Start programs worried about impacts to approving their current grants, fiscal issues, and applications to make their programs more responsive to their local communities. These cuts will have a direct impact on programs, children, and families. Regional Offices work in tandem with local providers, with expertise on specific state regulations, to ensure the safety and quality of services and to meet the mission of providing care for the most vulnerable families in the country.
No information, as of now, has been sent to or communicated to Head Start grantees. No plan for who will provide support has been shared, and the still-existing regional offices are already understaffed.
Unfortunately, this is another example of the Federal Administration’s continuing assault on Head Start. Several weeks ago, they took the unprecedented step to freeze access to Head Start funding, then they caused “rolling blackouts” where programs could not access their grant dollars risking imminent closures, and now today they are undermining the functioning of Head Start by gutting the Regional Offices. We call on Congress to immediately investigate this blatant effort to hamper Head Start’s ability to provide services for the more than 15,000 children and families in Wisconsin (39 grantees) and to hold the Administration accountable for their actions.
