{"id":739233,"date":"2025-01-29T17:24:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T22:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=739233"},"modified":"2025-01-29T17:24:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T22:24:58","slug":"federal-funding-upheaval-is-harmful-for-children-parents-and-educators","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/federal-funding-upheaval-is-harmful-for-children-parents-and-educators\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Funding Upheaval Is Harmful for Children, Parents and Educators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On Monday afternoon, the Trump administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/01\/27\/us\/omb-memo.html\">dropped<\/a> a public policy bomb: the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) released a memo directing federal agencies to \u201ctemporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance\u201d except for funds going directly to individuals. One of the first programs hit was Head Start, which operates via <a href=\"https:\/\/19thnews.org\/2025\/01\/trumps-pause-on-government-assistance-could-put-early-learning-and-nutrition-programs-in-danger\/\">federal-to-local grant disbursements<\/a>, meaning dollars are distributed to programs, not to individuals.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Tuesday morning, the <a href=\"https:\/\/pms.psc.gov\/\">online system<\/a> used by Head Start and many other federal programs to process payments <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/trump-administration-delay-head-start-payments_n_6798f032e4b041a82d14726e\">was giving warnings<\/a> about \u201cdelays and\/or rejections of payments.\u201d As of Tuesday afternoon, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2025\/01\/27\/white-house-pauses-federal-grants\/\">confusion reigned<\/a>: the White House issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/fact-sheets\/2025\/01\/omb-q-a-regarding-memorandum-m-25-13\/\">clarifying document<\/a> suggesting that Head Start was exempt from the freeze, yet there were reports, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChrisMurphyCT\/status\/1884310251853496473\">including from<\/a> Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) that the Head Start payment system remained down. Later, as the day wound down, a federal judge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/non-profits-health-groups-sue-over-trumps-freeze-grants-loans-2025-01-28\/\">paused the freeze until next week<\/a>, and finally, on Wednesday afternoon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2025\/01\/29\/white-house-budget-office-spending-freeze\/\">the order \u2014 OMB Memorandum M-13-25 \u2014 was rescinded,<\/a> although <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2025\/01\/29\/white-house-budget-office-spending-freeze\/\">questions about the funding freeze<\/a> still remain. Even if this crisis subsides, it is vital to remember who loses amid the chaos: children, parents and educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Head Start and Early Head Start <a href=\"https:\/\/headstart.gov\/program-data\/article\/head-start-program-facts-fiscal-year-2022\">serve around 800,000 children<\/a> from low-income families, offering reliable free child care and wraparound supports like parent workshops and access to medical screenings. These programs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instituteforchildsuccess.org\/rural-communities-head-start-plays-critical-role\/\">can be particularly essential in rural communities<\/a>, where affordable, high-quality child care options are particularly difficult for families to find. These programs are essential community assets upon which a multitude of American families rely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/after-a-tornado-of-false-starts-educators-remain-in-the-dark-on-school-funding\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/trump-dei-funding-freeze.jpg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">After a Tornado of False Starts, Educators Remain in the Dark on School Funding<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>Introducing chaos and uncertainty into these programs creates a cascade of negative impacts. First, let\u2019s consider Head Start classroom educators. There is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.childtrends.org\/publications\/aspects-of-well-being-for-the-child-care-and-early-education-workforce\">a bevy of research<\/a> connecting child care providers\u2019 well-being with the quality of care they provide for young children. It\u2019s one thing to try to do an office job when you\u2019re unsure about whether your paycheck will be deposited at the end of the week. It\u2019s another to try and guide the development of a dozen 4-year-olds, especially when that paycheck may barely be enough to make ends meet. (Of note, Head Start lead educators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban.org\/research\/publication\/head-start-and-early-head-start-teacher-salaries\">make an average<\/a> of around $40,000 a year, though there\u2019s substantial state variation). This fact makes the Trump administration\u2019s decision to put the freeze into place at the end of the month, just before rent is due, particularly harmful.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>J. David Young, executive director of FRIENDS Association for Children, a nonprofit in Richmond, Virginia that operates four Head Start classrooms, said in an interview that, \u201cThe stress, the anxiety, the uncertainty \u2014 it comes with the unknown. Staff are wondering about their jobs.\u201d While Young and his staff are committed to staying focused on providing quality care and education, he noted that \u201cwhen you start seeing things that affect you directly, or have potential to, you start getting really, really scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more, Head Start is already suffering from the same <a href=\"https:\/\/nhsa.org\/resource\/confronting-head-starts-workforce-crisis\/\">staffing challenges<\/a> that plague the child care sector writ large. Many teachers are leaving, or considering making an exit, whether for a lower-stress profession or a higher-paying job. School districts often offer $10,000 or more than Head Start while, as one North Dakota Head Start director <a href=\"https:\/\/nhsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2023.10-Workforce-Brief.pdf\">said<\/a> in 2023, \u201cWalmart and McDonalds pay more than I am able to for entry level positions.\u201d Since young children rely on stable relationships with caregivers, <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4307839\/\">high staffing turnover is a developmental negative<\/a>. But could anyone blame a Head Start teacher for seeking a different job instead of serving as a living political football for the next several years?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Daniel Hains, managing director of policy at the National Association for the Education of Young Children, said, &#8220;We had a call with a number of our state leaders yesterday and heard people were concerned about their jobs in the coming weeks, concerned about their ability to keep their programs open.&#8221; Hains added, &#8220;Even if this does get resolved in a legal manner, the confusion is already causing harm.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, the confusion adds stress for parents of children who attend Head Start programs. Many of these families, <a href=\"https:\/\/headstart.gov\/ersea\/article\/poverty-guidelines-determining-eligibility-participation-head-start-programs\">given their income bracket<\/a>, are likely working insecure low-wage jobs. There is a strong <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC5765853\/\">correlation between poverty and stress<\/a>, so many of the impacted families are already navigating pressure. Now, layer on the question of whether child care will be there tomorrow and it\u2019s easy to imagine panic setting in. As Young put it, the funding freeze attempt represents \u201cunnecessary emotional strain causing emotional hardship to families already experiencing difficulties.\u201d As any parent knows, a <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4861150\/\">high level of stress makes it tough to parent effectively<\/a>, so a government that wants to do right by the nation\u2019s families should be trying to <em>reduce<\/em> parental stress, not spike it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To put it plainly, the Trump administration\u2019s decision to disrupt Head Start \u2014 even temporarily \u2014 is harmful to educators, children and families. An administration that claims to be &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/america-is-a-pro-family-country-jd-vance-reaffirms-trump-administrations-commitment-to-life\/\">pro-family<\/a>&#8221; should not insert so much precarity into family life, particularly when American families <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/family\/archive\/2023\/07\/parenting-challenges-american-families-child-care\/674839\/\">already face plenty of day-to-day challenges<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s just Head Start.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The administration\u2019s move has potential implications for a huge swath of funds that impact early care and education \u2014 child care subsidies via the Child Care and Development Block Grant; the Child and Adult Care Food Program that reimburses programs for the meals they serve; child care funding for student parents via the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ffyf.org\/2024\/12\/20\/statement-ffyfs-sarah-rittling-on-500m-in-disaster-relief-for-child-care\/\">emergency disaster aid<\/a> passed back in December. All of these operate as block grants that flow from the federal government to states. And this of course says nothing of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/28\/omb-funding-freeze-trump-00200943\">broader collisions with family life<\/a> via funding for programs that support children\u2019s health research, housing, community development, and nearly all of the policy areas that shape a family\u2019s circumstances. More fundamentally, it shakes the trust between the family and the government, making the latter seem capricious and unreliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This move, coming just a week into President Trump\u2019s second term, will surely not be his last foray into spending cuts. There was a political calculation here; one can speculate the administration knew that their order would be challenged and at least partially blocked. Yet the administration should not lose sight of the fact that such machinations have a human cost to the very families they purport to champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Monday afternoon, the Trump administration dropped a public policy bomb: the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) released a memo directing federal agencies to \u201ctemporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance\u201d except for funds going directly to individuals. One of the first programs hit was Head Start, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":739236,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[191],"tags":[1740,6356,7299,6095,2948,5802],"series":[],"class_list":["post-739233","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-child-care","tag-child-care-funding","tag-child-care-programs","tag-child-development","tag-early-childhood-2","tag-policy"],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/739233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/739233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":739238,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/739233\/revisions\/739238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739233"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=739233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}