Nearly 3 000 Michigan Kids At Risk Of Losing Head Start Services Due T

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 31, 2025, 3:38 PM

nearly 3 000 michigan kids at risk of losing head start services due t

Nine Michigan Head Start programs — and the nearly 3,000 kids they serve across the state — that were expecting to receive federal funds by Nov. 1 are at risk of losing these dollars if the federal government shutdown continues into next month, according to the executive director of the Michigan Head Start Association, Robin Bozek. Head Start provides free child care and early education to kids living in poverty, while also serving as a coordinator of services, like health care and food access, to their families. Some of the nine programs have said that they are finding ways to temporarily extend their programs through non-federal funding sources. Others say they don’t have that option and will be forced to close their doors after Nov. 1 if grants aren’t disbursed.

“The shutdown is pushing programs to a breaking point at a time when children and families can least afford it,” said Michelle LaJoie, executive director at the Alger-Marquette Community Action Board, which provides Head... LaJoie said the Alger-Marquette Community Action Board is using some of the small amount of funding it has to continue its Head Start program through Nov. 14 if needed, but after that it will have to close its doors, laying off the majority of its Head Start staff and stopping those services for kids and families.......... Federal funding for Head Start programs is dispersed on a staggered grant cycle, meaning different programs receive their funding at different times throughout the year. (One Head Start program may operate multiple Head Start sites, each with a set number of “funded slots” available for eligible children.) During a shutdown, this funding is not dispersed, putting many Head Start... When Head Start programs are forced to close, children lose access to the care, early learning, nutrition, and stability Head Start provides.

Below you’ll find a map and chart showing what this looks like at the state level, as well as stories from local, state, and national news sources as they cover the impact. Every morning, FFYF reports on the latest child care & early learning news from across the country. Subscribe and take 5 minutes to know what's happening in early childhood education. What an incredible Day of Action! Yesterday, voices nationwide united with a single message to Congress: Protect Head Start and end the shutdown. Nearly 50 organizations across the country took …

UPDATE 10/27/25 What We’re Watching: National Day Of Action The child care and early learning community is uniting around a Day of Action on Wednesday, October 29. If Congress does … About 134 programs could be affected in 41 states and Puerto Rico. Tens of thousands of children and families could be affected by dozens of Head Start programs potentially closing if the federal government shutdown extends past Nov. 1. About 134 programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico will see their operational funding cease on Saturday, affecting nearly 65,000 kids, or 10% of all Head Start children, according to the National Head Start...

Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Ohio may see the most impacts, potentially affecting more than 24,000 children and more than 7,500 staff members, NHSA data shows. Head Start is a federal program run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides early childhood education, health, nutrition and family support services to low-income children and families. As of November 1, nearly 10% of all Head Start children are at risk of losing access to their classrooms. Use this map to see how your state is impacted. Nine Michigan Head Start programs — and the nearly 3,000 kids they serve across the state — that were expecting to receive federal funds by Nov.

1 are at risk of losing these dollars if the federal government shutdown continues into next month, according to the executive director of the Michigan Head Start Association, Robin Bozek. Head Start provides free child care and early education to kids living in poverty, while also serving as a coordinator of services, like health care and food access, to their families. Some of the nine programs have said that they are finding ways to temporarily extend their programs through non-federal funding sources. Others say they don’t have that option and will be forced to close their doors after Nov. 1 if grants aren’t disbursed. Join the discussion → Share your thoughts!

Read more from our local writers → MI Gubernatorial Candidate 2026 - Ralph Rebandt Over the past week, Head Start programs in Michigan are once again seeing delays in federal funding as they try to meet payroll and cover day-to-day operations. MaDonna Princer is worried. The executive director of Head Start in Kent County said these programs offer more than just free preschool to low-income families. They provide opportunities for working or student parents, and they create a positive ripple effect in the community, she said. When the money doesn't come in on time — “It's not as simple as just saying that, you know, children don't get to come to preschool,” Princer told Michigan Public.

“That's far too simplified of the impact of this.” In late January, the Trump administration issued a pause in funding for numerous federal programs, causing widespread confusion on how programs like Head Start could pay their bills in the interim. While that funding pause order was rescinded two days later, the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget vowed to continue the review of federal spending. Now, nearly four months later, the nonprofit educational programs are again facing issues with the federal funding they regularly receive. Head Start centers across the country have also been receiving significantly less federal funding in 2025 compared to this time last year. Head Start programs rely on a payment management system in which the federal government deposits part of the total annual grant.

Then, Head Start programs request to use up to three business days of funding at a time. Those funds are then directly deposited into Head Start programs’ bank accounts before being distributed for things like payroll. Last week, the Trump administration laid off all staff in the federal Office of Head Start’s regional office serving Michigan and six other neighboring states. The office, which was based in Chicago, was formerly one of 10 regional Head Start offices across the country. Michigan Head Start offices say they were caught off guard by the move and are worried about what staff cuts will mean for the Office of Head Start’s ability to meet their needs including,... “None of us saw this coming, it was just absolutely sudden,” said Janice Smith, early childhood services director at the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency.

Chicago office staff, she said, “were not even given the opportunity to contact programs to let us know that this was happening or who to contact instead.” These regional offices provide organizations that receive Head Start funding — who themselves provide services to low-income children in their communities — with essential support like dispersing and approving funds, providing technical training, answering... According to an email Head Start providers received from the Department of Health and Human Services a couple days after the cuts, the Chicago office’s closure are part of a broader consolidation of the... An HHS spokesperson said department leaders targeted cutting redundant administrative positions in the highest cost cities. Henry Ford Health on Monday will stop scheduling telehealth appointments for most Medicare patients because the federal government has been shut down for three weeks and there’s no end in sight. Unsure whether the federal government will pay the hospitals for telehealth visits, “now those patients have to get in their car and come in … versus they could have stayed at home,” Robin Damschroder,...

Meanwhile, thousands of the most vulnerable children across the country and in Michigan face the potential suspension of Head Start preschool programs, including nine that expect to receive federal grants on Nov. 1. Researchers trying to reach federal agencies get no one when they call. Jurors could have to serve in federal courtrooms without being paid. Universities can’t access federal grant money. A trick-or-treat event planned at a federal museum in Alpena can’t happen.

While many effects of the shutdown have been muted in Michigan — no major delays have been reported at Michigan airports, for example — cracks have begun to form in many services upon which... Hundreds of Detroit families are losing access to Head Start services after the federal government decided to pull a grant that had financed the early child education and development program at a local nonprofit. Family members, staff and community partners gathered Tuesday for an open house event at Focus:HOPE's headquarters on Oakman Boulevard, where they plotted moves to get the funding restored and characterized the decision as an... "It's not up for debate. To take this away from us is to tell us you want us to be underserved. We deserve the same amount of resources as (for) kids in Southfield, Ecorse, Canton," said Kyra O'Guinn, whose 3-year-old daughter has been involved in Focus:HOPE's early childhood program since she was 4 months old.

The program is primarily for low-income families with children up to age 5, and had been available through Focus:HOPE for residents in four Detroit ZIP codes: 48202, 48206, 48211 and 48238. Now, with the new school year near, families in those areas are scrambling to make other arrangements.

Nearly 3 000 Michigan Kids At Risk Of Losing Head Start Services Due T

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