KING COUNTY, Wash. — Two Head Start programs that help a combined 275 children in Washington are planning to close on Nov. 1.
And if the Federal Government remains closed, thousands more children are at risk of their programs closing.
Around 15,000 families in Washington have children enrolled in Head Start.
3,000 of these families rely on funding that usually arrives in November.
Eastern Washington says it is forced to close without government funding.
“I’m terrified, I’ve been trying to hope that there would be a dramatic change,” said Ashleigh Ligon, who has had two kids graduate from Headstart and a third who is currently enrolled.
Her children needed occupational, speech, and physical therapy that “there was no way” she would be able to afford otherwise.
Alexis Cortes’ youngest two kids are in Head Start, and she says it’s noticeable how more prepared they are for kindergarten than her older kids.
“I really want people to know that it matters... these programs are here for all of us parents to be successful so that we don’t have to watch our children go through this continuous cycle of generational poverty,” Cortes said.
Cortes is worried about the impact of having no childcare on her work and schooling if she can’t bring her daughter to her Head Start early education program.
“It would put me probably in a bigger rut. I utilize the child care so that I can get work done, so that I can take my work to school and my employer and get it done.” Cortes said.
In the Puget Sound Educational Service District 121, the district board approved emergency funding.
They hope to keep programs in Pierce and King Counties open during November, says Lori Pittman, the district’s government affairs director.
“We are funding our classrooms to ensure that we have high-quality early learning services because we know that when kids miss school, it creates learning loss.” Pittman said, “We want [parents] to be at work so they can help families try to plug some of the holes that are happening and safety nets that they relied on.”
The emergency funding comes mainly from fundraising through the nonprofit Learning Communities Foundation.
People can also donate to help programs make it through the shutdown.
Pittman says the federal government hasn’t guaranteed that any emergency funds will be reimbursed.
Washington State Head Start Director Joel Ryan says other Head Start districts are having to take out loans to stay open or face closure, as seen in Vancouver and Eastern Washington.
“Open the government up so we don’t lose childcare and head start for kids who need it, but at the same time we can reverse these really cruel cuts that are being made to health services for these same families,” Ryan said.
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