The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union of federal workers in the country, has called for Congress to end the shutdown immediately by passing a clean CR. The AFGE’s president criticized both parties for trying to put a partisan spin on the situation and called the fact that Americans are being forced to work without pay a “national disgrace.” Federal workers represent an important contingent within the Democrats’ base, and this messaging places pressure on Democrats who could lose support from federal workers at risk of missing another paycheck.
Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) are working to merge their two shutdown funding bills to create bipartisan legislation that would pay an unknown number of federal employees. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said he is open to a compromise. Several senators criticized Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) for not keeping the Senate in session over the weekend. Senator Thune indicates that a deal is likely not close.
Democrats are also struggling to remain unified as the shutdown continues. On Thursday, Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) joined Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) in voting for the Shutdown Fairness Act (S. 3012), indicating they are willing to dissent from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) wishes.
Despite concerns about a lack of progress, many senators are still looking to push ahead. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) is continuing to support a three-bill minibus to pass more appropriations bills, and other senators have expressed interest in passing bills and conferencing with the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Act (H.R. 3944).
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) Update
Illinois WIC is funded to operate throughout November.
Last week, a judge granted a nationwide preliminary injunction! The preliminary injunction prohibits HHS from implementing the new policy and applies to all Head Start programs across the country.
What does this mean? It means that Head Start programs can continue serving ALL children, regardless of immigration status, who is deemed eligible for Head Start. Programs are NOT required to verify citizenship of anyone in the program.
This is a big win for Head Start nationwide! This lawsuit was led by the ACLU, which represented Head Start associations in Illinois, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, as well as parent organizations in Oregon and California.
A separate case, brought by 21 Attorneys General, challenged the changes to immigration verification in federal programs across four agencies. A judge also issued a preliminary injunction in this case, which applies only to the Plaintiff states.
Head Start Alumni Senator Warnock questions Adams at 57:52.
Head Start Alumni Senator Luján questions Adams at 1:15:25.
Adams mentions that his wife's grandmother managed a Head Start program in the 1960s & 1970s in Blackfoot, Idaho, at 59:29.
Here’s what you need to know:
On the horizon is the House and Senate appropriations. Now begins the debate over Head Start Federal Year 2026 spending levels. No word on a draft bill yet so we'll wait until those details become clearer. Congressman Cole expressed funding similar to the Presidents budgt: flat funding for Head Start. House Subcomittee is scheduled for July 21. House Full Committee is scheduled for July 24. Senate Committee markups are not yet scheduled.
They requested a preliminary injunction, which would prevent HHS from implementing or enforcing the DEIA Ban and the mass closures of half the regional office and elimination of 60% of the staff. HHS filed a brief opposing this injunction request.
Though they make several arguments in response, it is noted that they did not submit any evidence or rebutt any of Plaintiffs’ fourteen declarations. Instead HHS argues three points that mirror arguments that the administration has made in other cases across the country.
According to ACLU, it is notable that HHS publicly concedes that a) the DEIA ban should not be interpreted to stop programs “from serving and recruiting from diverse populations, offering services to children with diverse backgrounds, or meeting the diverse needs of the population served”; and b) there is a robust process that HHS must follow before it can terminate grant funding or seek penalties pursuant to DEIA ban. To the extent that the agency takes an inconsistent position in the future, that would allow the plaintiffs to go back to court immediately to hold HHS to its own words.
What's Next? Plaintiffs will file a Reply Brief requesting an oral argument and hope the judge will schedule a hearing. After the hearing, the judge will issue a decision about whether to grant a preliminary injunction.
"Kennedy revealed on Wednesday that the Trump administration would back down from one major cut: Head Start. Kennedy said he “fought very hard” to restore funding to Head Start in the proposed budget, which provides preschool funding for millions of low-income families across the country."
Read/Watch More Here:
Kennedy Says Funding for Head Start Will Not Be Cut - PBS News_5/15/2025
Watch: HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Testifies in Senate Hearing on 2026 White House Budget Request - PBS News_5/14/2025
WATCH: Secretary RFK Jr. Testifies on Staffing Cuts, Funding Freezes and HHS Policy Changes - PBS News_5/14/2025
Earlier today, President Trump sent his administration’s “skinny” budget proposal up to Congress. This proposal is the first step in the annual funding process for Head Start, providing an overview of the full budget that is expected to be released toward the end of this month.
The good news is that the proposal does not appear to include the elimination or significant cuts to Head Start.
While Head Start is not explicitly eliminated in this skinny budget proposal, the budget does include significant cuts that threaten access to health services, education, and support for hundreds of thousands of families. The significant cut to overall non-defense discretionary spending will make it difficult for Congress to come to an agreement, which means we still have a lot of work ahead.
While we don’t know the final proposed funding level for Head Start yet, we believe this news means that our strategy and efforts are working! It also means that now is the time to keep pushing, getting vocal, and standing up for Head Start.
After careful consideration, NHSA has chosen not to join the lawsuit and believes that legal action should only be taken as a last resort. In this critical moment, we believe the most impactful way to secure Head Start's future is to channel our grassroots’ strength to influence the White House and Congress and work toward our shared goal of supporting our nation’s children.
As a national organization with hundreds of state and local programs throughout the U.S., NHSA appreciates the range of perspectives in our communities and respects these associations’ and parents’ organizations’ right to pursue the approaches they believe best serve their communities.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy recently announced a major restructuring in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative.” This restructuring will serve multiple goals without impacting critical services, ultimately saving taxpayers $1.8 billion per year.
As part of this restructuring, HHS is consolidating its 10 regional offices into 5, closing offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco, effective April 1, 2025. We recognize the importance of ensuring continuity for Head Start grant recipients in the affected regions. To support you during this transition, please continue to use the Correspondence feature within the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) as your primary means of communication for specific grant activities. Office of Head Start (OHS) staff are monitoring these communications to address any immediate assistance needs. For general questions, you may contact us at ohsrecipientsupport@acf.hhs.
OHS staff remain fully committed to supporting Head Start grant recipients and the important work you do to serve children and families across the nation. This restructuring will not impact the critical services you rely on, and we are here to ensure a seamless experience as we move forward together.
Thank you for your continued partnership.
/ Laurie Todd-Smith, Ph.D. / Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development / Department of Health and Human Services /Administration for Children and Families/
Office of Early Childhood Development
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.These staff are an essential part of ensuring that children and families are able to access reliable, high-quality, and fiscally sound support. Without these terminated staff, programs are worried about impacts to approving their grants, fiscal applications, applications to make their programs more responsive to their local communities, and more.
Read More Here:
IHSA's Press Release: Five Federal Regional Offices Completely Closed with No Notice Given_4/1/2025
12:57PM
Posted by Katie Hamm, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development at Administration for Children and Families (ACF):
"Early this morning, staff at ACF received RIF notices. While information is still coming it, it appears that all staff in the Office of Head Start and the Office of Child Care in Regions 1 (Boston), 2 (New York), 5 (Chicago), 9 (San Francisco), and 10 (Seattle) received a RIF notice. Staff are on paid leave effective immediately and no longer have access to their files. There does not appear to be a transition plan so that Head Start grantees, States, and Tribes are assigned to a new office. For Head Start, it is unclear who will administer grants going forward. This is particularly disconcerting for grants that are due to start on May 1. This will have major impacts on child health and safety, seamless continuation of federal funding, and oversight/fiscal stewardship. This is the opposite of efficiency."
9:42AM
We are hearing that OHS's Regional Offices are closing. These are regions 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. Mostly blue states. Illinois is part of Region 5. Details forthcoming...
March 27, 2025: Thursday
5:27PM
The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) annouced it is cutting 10,000 full-time employees across health agencies, the department told CNN. HHS said it will consolidate from 28 to 15 divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America. The cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Read More Here:
HHS Cuts 10,000 Employees in Major Overhaul of Health Agencies - 3/27/2025_CNN
10:11AM
Welcome New Leadership for Early Childhood Development (ECD) - A Note from OHS
"On behalf of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), we are pleased to share that the Trump Administration has appointed a new Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Office of Early Childhood Development (ECD), Dr. Laurie Todd-Smith.
Dr. Todd-Smith joins ECD as a former public-school elementary and preschool teacher. She served as child care director in multiples states including New Mexico, Arizona and Mississippi. She most recently served at the America First Policy Institute as director of the Center for Education Opportunity & the Center for the American Child where she focused on assisting states to advance evidence-based education policy reforms including the expansion of school choice, early literacy, foster care reform, online safety of children, as well as a model policy for fentanyl curriculum in public schools. During President Trump’s first term, she was the director of the Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor, focusing on child care and paid family leave.
Previously, Dr. Todd-Smith served as a senior education and workforce policy advisor to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, as well as serving on the State Early Childhood Advisory Council (SECAC) in Mississippi. In those roles, she spearheaded several legislative initiatives that significantly improved public education in the state. These reforms led to remarkable growth in reading and math achievement outcomes for Mississippi's students, earning the state the title of the "Mississippi Miracle". The state is now leading the Nation for growth in reading and math scores.
Dr. Todd-Smith holds a doctorate in education from Mississippi State University, a master’s degree from Western New Mexico University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona.
March 26, 2025: Wednesday
This afternoon, the Trump administration asked "the Supreme Court to intervene in an ongoing dispute over Department of Education grants that were canceled because they funded programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives." Namely federal programs that supported teacher workforce to address the teacher shortage crisis.
Head Start In the News...
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Intervene in Case Over Canceled DEI-related grants - 3/26/2025_CBSNews
March 22, 2025: Saturday
Several weeks ago the OHS Facebook page was removed. It's now back up and running.
Head Start In the News...
The Transformative Impact Of Early Head Start On Student Educationâ - 3/13/2025_Forbes
March 21, 2025: Friday
RFK Jr. Visits Head Start Program: The U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recently visited the Greater Mount Vernon Community Head Start program in Gum Springs, Virginia to spotlight the department's focus on nutrition and healthy eating. The visit coincides with National Nutrition Month.
March 20, 2025: Thursday
DISMANTLING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
NBC reports - "President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday in an effort to “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education.” With the stroke of his pen, he officially set in motion a plan to shutter the 46-year-old agency, as he said, “once and for all.”
But the order stops short of immediately closing the department, which cannot be done without congressional approval. Rather, it directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely."
At the signing, Trump said federal Pell grants (a common type of federal undergraduate financial aid), Title I funding and resources and funding for children with disabilities would be “preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments.”
“But beyond these core necessities, my administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the department,” he said, adding that he would do so “as quickly as possible.”
"The move still promises to upend the key functions the department performs in the broader education system, which include the distribution of billions of dollars to help impoverished and disabled students."
Trump wants to move The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that provides free appropriate public education and related services to eligible children with disabilities, to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), which cannot be done legally. Where will the McKinney-Vento Act, a federal law that provides important educational rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness, end up? Head Start proudly serves children from both of these categories. Thus this shake up is concerning. How will it affect our Head Start community?
Head Start In the News...(a) The Secretary shall not provide financial assistance for any program, project, or activity under this subchapter unless the grant or contract with respect thereto specifically provides that no person with responsibilities in the operation thereof will discriminate with respect to any such program, project, or activity because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, political affiliation, or beliefs.
With your next application submission, Head Start grant recipients should carefully review their annual funding application, including the budget and budget justification narrative, TTA plans, program goals, and any other supplemental materials to ensure they are in accordance with this guidance.
Here are more of the specifics:
In mid-February, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Not missing a beat, NHSA immediately sent a welcome letter to Sec. Kennedy to emphasize the critical role Head Start plays in early childhood development and education and in the lives of millions of children, families, and communities over the past 60 years. With priorities around increasing access to healthy foods and nutrition that align closely with the work of Head Start as well as his family connection to Head Start, we believe that the new secretary can be a strong supporter of Head Start.
Why this matters: The letter also invited the secretary to visit a Head Start program or center and witness the high-quality education and services it offers and to partner with NHSA to increase Head Start funding, reduce regulations, and maximize efficiencies.
The “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” Executive Order (EO) issued last month regarding noncitizen eligibility for federally funded programs attempts to lay out a framework for more detailed documentation of the citizenship/immigration status of every individual receiving public services.
Why this matters: Under current law, Head Start is prohibited from collecting this data. Though Head Start is not covered directly under this EO, more details will be forthcoming next month when federal agencies are required to publish further information, and we are monitoring this issue closely. We are not recommending any change in practice at this time.
February 26, 2025: Wednesday
Finally the Executive Order directs that “[w]ithin 30 days of the date of this order, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Administrator of the United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Service, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, shall further: (i) identify all other sources of Federal funding for illegal aliens; and (ii) recommend additional agency actions to align Federal spending with the purposes of this order, and, where relevant, enhance eligibility verification systems.”
Read full article HERE.
Legal experts noted the president is explicitly forbidden from cutting off spending for programs that Congress has approved. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to appropriate money and requires the executive to pay it out. A 50-year-old law known as the Impoundment Control Act makes that explicit by prohibiting the president from halting payments on grants or other programs approved by Congress. Read full TRO HERE.
What to Watch Out For...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led a group of his colleagues in issuing a letter to Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Dorothy A. Fink, M.D. and Acting Director of the Office of Head Start Captain Tala Hooban expressing concern about the acute financial impacts and lingering uncertainty faced by Head Start programs in Virginia and across the country as a result of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) memo that imposed a government-wide hiring freeze.
While the White House later clarified that Head Start would not be targeted by the funding freeze and the OMB later rescinded memo, Head Start programs were temporarily unable to access the Payment Management System (PMS) to use their allocated federal funds. As a result, Head Start programs nationwide have not had funding disbursed in a timely manner – imperiling their ability to pay staff and keep educational and child care programs up and running.
“Head Start programs cannot pay their teachers and staff and continue normal operations without the assurances of payment processing and notices of grant renewals and awards,” wrote the senators. “This will impact children, families, and communities across the country, particularly the rural communities where these programs represent a large share of the child care options.”
“Even if this issue extends beyond the Office of Head Start, we urge you to do everything in your power to ensure these programs receive transparent and frequent communication on the progress of their funds being released. Head Start programs operate on razor-thin margins and cannot survive without timely intervention. Children, families, employees, and educators all depend on these critical federal funds,” the senators continued.
In addition to Kaine, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Andy Kim (D-NJ).
The full text of the letter is available here
In an attempt to review all Federal spending, President Trump's administration directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Tuesday to start the process of pausing and freezing federal funds, grants, and loans. With minimal guidance or explanation, federal programs across the nation was in a frenzy to try to understand what this meant for their programs and services. Including Head Start.
Clarity was issued in the afternoon when OMB released guidance citing, "Funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, and other similar programs will not be paused."
As of 5pm Tuesday night, most Head Start programs were reported to be able to access the Payment Management System (PMS) to draw down their funds and continue providing payroll to staff and services to their families and children.
IHSA's RESPONSE
It just so happened that IHSA's Executive Director Lauri Morrison-Frichtl was in Washington D.C. starting that Monday to meet with Congress people at Capital Hill on behalf of Head Start's future. She was where she was needed to be! Because as soon as this intent went public, she jumped into a cab directed for the Capital and met with Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Tammy Duckworth right away. Together, the three worked furiously to contact Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Deputy Governor of Education Martin Torres and get them on board to fight this. By 8:30am, the State of Illinois was aware of the threat, worked up a plan to block the freeze, and made it known to the public of what was going on. It is of no accident that Governor Pritzker mentioned and defended Head Start several times in his debriefing meetings with the public and news interviews. Lauri's quick response to bring attention the threat to Head Start's funding helped prioritize it on the Governor's agenda.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN