A Perfect Storm for Families: Federal Shutdowns and Rising Economic Hardships Threaten Early Childhood
Thousands of Head Start seats are about to be impacted. Simultaneously, nearly half of families with young kids are struggling to meet basic needs // Amanda Geduld
Today, we’re sharing two important stories about the challenges facing families with young children in the U.S.
More than 65,000 Head Start children and their families are at risk of losing access to critical services if the ongoing federal government shutdown persists, according to a statement released by the National Head Start Association Thursday.
This accounts for close to 10% of all of those served by the early learning programs for lower-income families.
Due to the timing of federal grants, six Head Start programs serving 6,525 children in Florida, South Carolina and Alabama are already operating without federal funding, the association said. So far, they’ve been able to keep their doors open by drawing on emergency local resources, but that money could soon dry up.
By Nov. 1, an additional 134 programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico, serving 58,627 children, will face the same fate. In Florida alone, 9,711 Head Start and Early Head Start seats are threatened.
“Programs are scrambling,” said Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association. “We don’t want to see our children become the victims or [get] caught in the crosshairs of these types of political fights.”
Katie Hamm, former deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development under President Joe Biden, called it a significant threat and “the latest attack in a series of attacks on Head Start” since President Donald Trump took office for a second time in January.
“What we don’t know is who’s going to have to close immediately, but some will,” Hamm told The 74 Friday, noting the damaging impact closures would have on some of the nation’s most vulnerable children and their families.
Simultaneously, households are under pressure beyond child care.
Nearly half of American families with children under 6 are struggling to meet at least one basic need, according to new data from the Stanford Center on Early Childhood.
The 49% of families who reported not being able to access these necessities — including food, housing, utilities and child care — marks a 13 percentage-point jump since June and one of the highest rates recorded since the RAPID Survey Project began collecting data in 2020.
The economic struggles were paired with significant emotional distress among parents, including anxiety and depression.
“We’re really seeing for the first time rates that are this high,” said Philip Fisher, director of the early childhood center, which runs the monthly data collection. “Never — even during the midst of the pandemic — have we seen anything like this … And the fact that it’s now going into its third month where we see rates around this high suggests that it’s not a one-time anomaly.”
The numbers are a warning sign for the state of families’ financial well-being writ large, he noted.
“We’re talking about half of families now that are saying, ‘I can’t afford child care,’ or ‘I’m skipping meals in order to feed my kids,’” he added. “And that should be of concern, regardless of your political affiliation or where you live.