Some Head Start preschools close their doors as government shutdown continues: Here's how it’s hurting low-income families

Across the United States, thousands of children from low-income households have been shut out of early education as the ongoing government shutdown halts funding for Head Start, the federal preschool programme established nearly sixty years ago as part of President Lyndon B.

Johnson’s War on Poverty. Dozens of centres that were due to receive federal grant payments on 1 November, 2025, have closed indefinitely. Others are staying open through temporary aid from local governments, school districts and philanthropies, but many warn their resources are rapidly dwindling.At least 140 programmes have missed their annual federal funding, affecting nearly 65,000 preschoolers and expectant parents. More than 8,000 families have already lost access to care, Associated Press (AP) reports.

Families on pause

For working parents, the closures mean more than a gap in child care, they disrupt fragile systems of survival. In Portsmouth, Ohio, Keiliana Porter had to tell her four-year-old twins that they could not return to their Head Start classroom. She runs a small business from home while caring for her youngest child, but with all three children now at home, she has been forced to pause work. “It was like I was punishing them,” she said, adding that the children cannot understand why school is suddenly out of reach.

Head Start directors in the region described the impact as immediate. Sarah Sloan, who oversees the local centres in Scioto County, told AP that the closures are “hampering families’ ability to put food on the table and to know their children are safe during the day.” In other states, the consequences are similar. Centres serving children of seasonal farmworkers have been hit especially hard. The East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, which operates across several southern states, has shut out more than 1,100 children and furloughed nearly 900 staff members. Its chief executive, Javier Gonzalez, told AP that some parents may now resort to keeping older siblings home from school or bringing younger children to the fields where they work.

Layered insecurity

The disruption comes as many families also face uncertainty about food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP). Courts have ordered the administration to use emergency funds to keep SNAP running, but parents who rely on both programmes describe the anxiety as constant. In Clinton, Iowa, 22-year-old Jaxson Liebfreude had recently begun applying for jobs after months at home caring for his infant daughter, who attended Early Head Start. When the centre closed, he had to suspend those plans. “It is stressful,” he told AP, explaining that without care, returning to work is no longer possible. Like many others, his family has turned to multiple food pantries to fill the gap once covered by school-provided meals. “Only having to focus on giving her dinner and snacks after school was so much easier,” he said, recalling how Head Start’s meal service had eased daily strain.

A fragile system

Head Start centres provide not just early education but also medical and dental screenings, nutrition, and social support for families living in poverty.

Because they are almost entirely federally funded, the shutdown has left them with little protection from financial interruption. Some have received emergency assistance. In Florida, Head Start centres in Tallahassee and Leon County reopened after a brief closure thanks to a grant from the local Children’s Services Council. Churches and the school district have stepped in to provide meals. “It takes a village to raise a child, and our village has come together,” said Nina Self, interim chief executive of the Capital Area Community Action Agency, according to AP. But in rural counties nearby, centres remain closed. Rekah Strong, who runs Head Start programmes in southern Washington, said her organisation has already closed one centre and reduced home-based visits. “If the government does not open back up, we will be providing fewer services each week,” she warned, calling the outlook “more bleak every day,” AP reports.

More than a temporary closure

Launched in 1965 to break cycles of poverty, Head Start has long stood as one of the most enduring social investments in early childhood education. Its interruption, advocates argue, will leave lasting marks, particularly on children for whom school provides stability, meals, and essential therapy. As the shutdown drags on, states and local communities are confronting a question larger than logistics: how to preserve the foundation of opportunity for families who have the least room to absorb loss.