QuickTake:

Head Start of Lane County, like other providers of early child care services, has faced financial uncertainty under the Trump administration. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said he wants that to change. 

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley wants more funding stability for Head Start of Lane County, a nonprofit that serves about 800 children up to age 5 and that has weathered uncertainty during the Trump administration.

Merkley, D-Ore., toured a Head Start center in Eugene on Monday, Nov. 24, and heard from Head Start officials, local leaders and recipients of the program, which provides preschool, meals, checkups, mental health screenings and other support services for low-income families.

“Head Start is a stopgap safety net,” Charleen Strauch, executive director of Head Start of Lane County, said at Merkley’s roundtable. 

Head Start programs in Oregon and nationwide have faced funding instability in the Trump administration. Federal funding was briefly paused in January, then resumed. More recently, the federal government shutdown created additional funding uncertainty. 

For many, though, Head Start is more than a preschool program for many families — it’s part of the safety net. For some children who participate, their meal at Head Start is their only meal of the day, Strauch said.

Two parents with children who have received Head Start services shared their stories with the group.

Lauren Mitchell of Lowell participates in the organization’s policy council, which provides input to the organization about goals and funding. Mitchell, who suffers from pain that affects her ability to work and earn an income, said the organization doesn’t stigmatize low-income people.

“It’s hard for me to go to work, and because of that, it’s hard for me to have a lot of income,” Mitchell said. “But Head Start has really given me a purpose.”

And, she said, Head Start is a reminder of the potential in each child.

“You never know what child is going to be the next brilliant inventor,” Mitchell said.

Jennifer Van Gerpin, another Head Start parent, said she moved with her family from California to Lane County during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, she was pregnant and had five children.

The support from Head Start helped her family go from homelessness to purchasing a house in Springfield. The nonprofit connected her with DevNW, an organization that helps families prepare for home ownership.

“We went from homelessness to homeowner in three years,” Van Gerpin said.

Other participants included Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson and Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon, who both praised the role that Head Start programs play in keeping communities strong and vibrant.

In an interview after the roundtable, Merkley said it’s crucial to make sure the Trump administration keeps dispersing Head Start funds regularly. After President Donald Trump took office in January and funds were withheld, Head Start programs were in crisis, Merkley said.

“This is totally unacceptable,” he said. “We’re talking about our most vulnerable children. Head Start is essential for them to get a great foundation for life. It really comes down to the fact that those first few years are when the brains are wired, and if you have the right environment of support during those years with nutrition and educational learning and play and socialization, you have a much better foundation to thrive.”

Merkley added: “Attacking that foundation like that was immoral, unacceptable, and we have to do everything we can to prevent the administration from doing that again.”

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.