Two Iowa Head Start child care programs are expected to face funding lapses and could have to reduce services if the federal government shutdown continues into November, advocates say.
Saturday, Nov. 1 is a pivotal deadline for several federally funded programs as the federal government shutdown continues. On the top of many people’s minds is the end of federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps, which provides food benefits for more than 270,000 in Iowa each month.
Another program facing funding shortages as the government shutdown continues is Head Start, a program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that serves roughly 750,000 children throughout the country from infancy through preschool. The programs provide child care and early learning services, in addition to free meals, health screenings and parental support services for participating families. According to the National Head Start Association, nearly 65,000 children in Head Start programs will be at risk of losing access to their classrooms beginning Nov. 1 because of lapsed funding.
However, not all Head Start programs will be impacted by the shutdown. Head Start programs are funded through an annual allocation at various times throughout the year — for example, some programs have already seen lapsed funding that was due Oct. 1 because of the shutdown.
Lori Ferris, executive director of the Iowa Head Start Association, said in Iowa, two Head Start programs — the South Central Iowa Community Action Program and Community Action of Eastern Iowa — have Nov. 1 funding renewal dates. Ferris said if the shutdown continues after Friday, Community Action of Eastern Iowa will have to close down five Head Start centers, impacting 139 students and 45 staff members.
The South Central Iowa Community Action Program has funding available to keep all locations operating as normal through Nov. 14, Ferris said, but programs could be impacted if the shutdown continues past that date.
While data from the National Head Start Association found 623 child care slots and 162 staff could be impacted by the shutdown in total, Ferris said these numbers reflect the total number of participants in the two programs set to receive federal funding in November.
“In Iowa, we’re very invested in our children and families and resilient, and really work hard at trying to figure out a way to make things work when we’re faced with challenges,” Ferris said. “So we’re fortunate in that the leadership at those programs [have] collaborated with their community partners and come up with some solutions so all the children would not be impacted.”
The state Department of Health and Human Services has also contacted affected Head Start organizations to gather more information about impacted communities and ways to connect those families with child care or other services, Ferris said. The state department did not respond to a request for comment.
If the shutdown were to continue into December, more Head Start programs would see their funding run out. Ferris said in Iowa, four Head Start programs would be affected if the government shutdown continues into December.
Ferris said the lost funding puts many Iowa families and staff in difficult positions, not just because it removes their child’s access to early education, but because Head Start allows many parents “to work, go to school, be a member of the military or participate in job training.”
The loss of SNAP dollars will also strain many families participating in Head Start programs, she said.
“Food insecurity is also a challenge for many of our families,” Ferris said. “So when their kids aren’t able to come to Head Start, where we feed them two nutritional meals and a snack every single day, now they’re faced with not only not having SNAP, but then having to make sure that their children are fed throughout the day when they’re not at Head Start. And many are not able to go to work (without a child care provider).”
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services said earlier in October the federal Food and Nutrition Services department instructed states not to issue November SNAP benefits. Food banks, pantries and other charitable organizations are preparing for a major surge in Iowans seeking food assistance as SNAP benefits are not issued.
Paige Chickering, the Iowa state manager for the Save the Children Action Network (SCAN), led petitions being dropped off at U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst’s offices Wednesday, calling for the GOP senators to support ending the shutdown and to “take action to protect Head Start.” The petition contained the signatures of 261 Iowans who “represent the voices of concerned constituents who believe that no child should lose access to Head Start because of political gridlock,” according to the letter.
Chickering said in an interview the efforts in Iowa are part of a national Head Start day of action, calling for Ernst and Grassley to “work with their partners in Congress to reopen the government, or to find emergency funding streams for these Head Start programs until the government can be reopened” in the event that a compromise is not reached by Nov. 1.
There have also been calls to extend emergency funding to SNAP, with U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks introducing legislation last week to allow the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to access emergency funds to maintain the food assistance program’s operations during the shutdown.
Chickering said there were six Head Start programs nationally that had funding expire Oct. 1. There was some reserve funding or other government support available to keep these programs functioning in October, but Chickering said there are many more programs potentially affected beginning in November. However, because Head Start is a “bipartisanly supported program that had such a good reputation in Congress,” she said advocates hope Congress could take action to provide funding for these programs if the shutdown continues.
Chickering called for concerned Iowans to reach out to their federal officials to talk about the impacts of the shutdown on their communities.
“This is a critical time to be contacting our congressional representatives, encouraging them to work together to reopen the government or to provide emergency funding until an agreement can be made to reopen the government, and provide sustained and lasting funding to these critical programs and services,” she said.
Robin Opsahl covers the Iowa Legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this story first appeared.
