Virginia Head Start programs say budget proposal will cause funding crunch

Head Start programs nationwide have been under strain in recent months as the Trump administration continues its assault on federal spending.

Virginia has fared better than other states, but uncertainty lingers even after President Donald Trump’s administration reversed a decision to cut Head Start funding from its proposed budget.

USA Today reported in April that the administration was considering zeroing out Head Start funding in its 2026 budget proposal. But when the proposal was actually released May 2, it did not mention Head Start, and the Associated Press reported that an unnamed administration official had said there would be “no changes” to the program’s funding.

However, the administration already caused difficulties for the free federal child care and preschool program for low-income families​​ by freezing providers’ funds in January. Then, after ending that freeze, it slashed federal Head Start staff, making it difficult for programs at the local level to get their funding; the Head Start associations of Washington, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, as well as parent advocate groups in Oregon and California, are suing the White House over what they say are unconstitutional administration moves to dismantle the program.

Virginia Head Start programs have not had to deal with regional office closures at this point, according to Dawn Ault, executive director of the Virginia Head Start Association.

But Virginia providers say the administration’s current approach is still not good enough. They say they haven’t seen funding increases in years, leaving them struggling to keep up with inflation.

“This would be the third year of having no increases to address cost-of-living changes and things like that, which — everyone looking at the economy knows that everything is more expensive,” said Tamie Rittenhouse, director of The Children’s Center, a Head Start provider in Virginia’s Western Tidewater region. “It means that adjustments have to be made to budget: To reflect the rising costs in one area, you have to reduce expenses in another.”

The National Head Start Association has raised concerns as well.

“Head Start programs are facing significant pressures: rising costs, workforce shortages, and increasing demand for comprehensive early childhood services,” NHSA executive director Yasmina Vinci said in a statement. “Maintaining funding for a third consecutive year — without accounting for inflation, workforce competition, or increased needs — is effectively a deep cut. It means programs will be forced to make impossible choices, including reducing enrollment, cutting hours, or laying off staff.”

Ault said Head Start is essential to working families, offering crucial child care they would otherwise be unable to afford, and even more support beyond that.

“When we work with families, we help them,” Ault told the Virginia Independent in April. “Sometimes they don’t have a medical home, or we’re seeing the dentist, the children brush their teeth in the classrooms. We provide breakfast and lunch, so they get some nutritious meals. I mean, mental health support, all sorts of things. If they’re working in addiction or recovery, we help families with that. It just goes on and on, which is why this is out of HHS, Health and Human Services, because it’s social work.”

Head Start can really be understood as a “two-generation approach,” Ault said, with its support for both parents and children. Parents with children in the Head Start program are assigned a case worker, who conducts home visits and helps families create annual goals, she said.

Head Start can help parents plan for advancing their own education, getting secure and consistent medical care, and saving money.

“There’s so much that Head Start does that goes beyond the child development program that really helps to try and put the family in a place and set goals to enhance their future trajectory for them and their children,” Ault said.

The payoffs of the program for the community shouldn’t be overlooked, Rittenhouse said.

“The primary eligibility factor for Head Start is low income. Children who grow up with low income or in poverty are far more at risk of detrimental outcomes later on in their life if they don’t get supportive services,” she said. “Children who go through Head Start are more likely to graduate high school, more likely to move on to secondary education beyond that, less likely to be incarcerated. And if you look at the expenses of incarceration compared to supporting education services on the front side, and then the opportunity to be a contributing member, have a job, pay taxes, contribute to the economy and the community moving forward, it’s really a win-win equation.”

That crucial support, Vinci said in her statement, is what makes Head Start funding so critical: “Every dollar invested in Head Start returns seven to nine dollars every year back to the community through small businesses, jobs, and reduced government dependence. When resources don’t keep pace with growing needs, it becomes harder for children to access important services, families to plan for the future, and communities to reach their full potential.”