Since its inception, Head Start has served nearly 40 million children<\/u><\/a> nationwide and more than 790,000 <\/u><\/a>in the last year alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe heard about the regional office closure on April 1, the same day [it closed],\u201d said Julissa Cruz, senior director of community-based advocacy at the Carole Robertson Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regional offices provide Head Start affiliates with training, technical assistance, and operational and fiscal support. They also assign a direct contact to each organization to communicate with to ensure they have enough resources to operate seamlessly, according to Cruz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These closures come months after a temporary federal funding freeze<\/u><\/a> disrupted Head Start programs across the country, briefly blocking affiliates\u2019 access to aid that is used to pay employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Carole Robertson receives some money from the state of Illinois and other partners to fund its early learning programs, Cruz said 76% of the operating budget comes from its Head Start grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent weeks, reports of an internal federal budget proposal to completely defund <\/u><\/a>the 60-year-old organization were released, though no official steps have been taken yet by the Trump administration to further these plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Monday, the Illinois Head Start Association (IHSA) joined several other states in a lawsuit<\/u><\/a> against the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) over its plans to defund the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen the regional office closed, it didn’t necessarily interrupt our day to day,\u201d said Cruz. \u201cHowever, [the closure] points to this bigger kind of vision that the administration has for not only Head Start, but government programs at large,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carole Robertson children line up to go play outside. (Credit: Claire Murphy)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A cancellation of the federal funds would impact their ability to offer vital resources to children and families. For other providers, who pull less money from different areas, it would mean a forced closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn a lot of rural areas, Head Start is sometimes the only option available for parents, and parents won\u2019t be able to go to work if they don\u2019t have a safe, secure, educational place for their child,\u201d said IHSA Executive Director Lauri Morrison-Frichtl. This would greatly impact not only the economic stability of the family but also the total welfare of the child, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2018 analysis<\/u><\/a> from the Center for American Progress found that Head Start is most critical in rural communities, where child care deserts are common. Of the 10 states surveyed, rural Head Start programs accounted for 22% of the state\u2019s total child care capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost 46% of all federally funded Head Start programs are located in rural districts. Without these programs, many rural communities would lose child care altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IHSA serves<\/u><\/a> over 28,000 low-income children and families across the state, with over 500 Head Start sites that provide direct childcare services. Morrison-Frichtl said IHSA receives over $478 million in federal funding for its Head Start and Early Head Start programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the program were to be defunded, it would be a devastating hit for \u201cthe most at risk, children and families across the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But these programs do much more than provide educational care for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carole Robertson, named for one of the four young girls killed in the 1963 KKK church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, provides nutritional meals, medical screenings, and mental health and parental support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have a team of family support specialists who help connect a family to resources,\u201d said Cruz. These resources include assistance in navigating food insecurity, unemployment, housing concerns, and primary care access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the child is not meeting their developmental milestones, there is a team of people who can work with that family so that that parent understands what their options are,\u201d said Cruz. \u201cIt\u2019s really 360 degrees of support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through several external partnerships, the Carole Robertson Center for Learning reaches about 15,000 families across Chicago. (Credit: Claire Murphy)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Data from the Office of Head Start supports the assertion of the program\u2019s long-term benefits for at-risk children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only are Head Start children less likely<\/u><\/a> to live in poverty and receive public assistance as adults, but they demonstrate<\/u><\/a> higher levels of social-emotional skills, language abilities, and cognitive development than children who did not attend the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHead Start has proven benefits for children’s developmental needs,\u201d said Terri Sabol, a developmental psychologist and an associate professor in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere’s been several large-scale, randomized, controlled trials that basically show the short-term impact of Head Start for kids who attended Head Start versus those who weren’t given access,\u201d said Sabol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXdeJ9Rbp-M1bi1NEkDLb4muluS-Ixf8WrkOZL8xH9ADf_y4gGALbwj20U-Xa5WMNPoBzf_wvKn-HGi3Muwzl2P6E5WzCdRzxFDe1TJydWylzpkxjFrRTx6hKrKJ2gAqXE0NfYWoxu6Mb3ZTQVq7Bms?key=5DKVzzuAxWFy97mMXWYDKw\")
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