Education
Advocates Say Cuts to Head Start Could Be Devastating for Illinois Families
Among the list of programs at risk under President Donald Trump’s so-called “skinny budget” proposal is Head Start.
Parents who otherwise would not be able to afford child care rely on Head Start when they work or go to school. The program operates across all 50 states and supports more than 600 child care centers and 28,000 children across Illinois.
Completely shutting down the program requires congressional approval, but Head Start advocates said the disruption and uncertainty are already having devastating consequences.
Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, the executive director of the Illinois Head Start Association, said member providers are already concerned.
“They are worried about their funding, the chaos, the uncertainty across the board,” Morrison-Frichtl said. “And this impacts our already fragile workforce, and you know that they’re worried about attracting and retaining staff to work in our programs because of the chaoticness of the administration.”
The Illinois Head Start Association has joined a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which claims the Trump administration is illegally “dismantling this crucial program in defiance of Congress” amid widespread closures and layoffs.
“We’ve experienced difficulty over the last few months, with funding, … to keep programs open and providing those critical lifelines for our families and the services for children which parents depend on to get to work,” Morrison-Frichtl said. “They need a safe, reliable source of care for their child.”
Mykela Collins is a former Head Start parent who now sits on the board of directors at the Illinois Head Start Association. She said the program allowed her to work and attend school while knowing her kids had a place to go.
“Without Head Start I would not have had that push as a parent to make sure that my children were learning the way that they need to learn,” Collins said.
The unpredictability also makes planning for the future much more difficult, she added.
“I think it scares us all,” Collins said. “It scares families. It scares organizations. We don’t know if we’re going to wake up tomorrow and Head Start will be gone. … Organizations are scared to even step up and say anything. … It’s really hard to just know that the services that I received and my children received could no longer be there for other families in need.”
