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President Trump’s proposed budget cuts spared Head Start. But executive directors of Oregon Head Start Association and Head Start of Lane County say they can’t rest easy until they know exactly how much federal funding will be allocated to the early childhood program. Without that support, nearly 300 families in Lane County could lose services ranging from preschool to food assistance.
Raising a family takes a village.
Heather Pridgen has that village, but the people in it can’t always help with her small children. Her husband works full-time, as does her mother-in-law, a nurse with long hours.
Pridgen and her husband don’t make enough to hire a nanny or pay for day care, which she said would cost them between $1,800 and $2,300 a month. On her family’s income, that wouldn’t leave much for their basic needs.
That’s where Lane County Head Start has come in — becoming the extra set of hands Pridgen’s village needs. Each week, a childhood development specialist visits her son, Otis. Like the cool aunt who stops by to play while having her sister’s back, she brings toys, crafts, and diapers. But she also provides critical social services that keep track of Otis’s emotional and social growth.
Meanwhile, Pridgen’s daughter, Linda, attends Howard Head Start, a full-day program within the Head Start of Lane County system. That same system helps parents pursue better job opportunities. Pridgen recently applied for a Head Start parent scholarship to enroll in a medical assistant program, a certification that could help her find work once Otis starts preschool.
But since the Trump administration took office, the future of Head Start has been uncertain.
During the last month, USA Today and the New York Times reported that national funding for Head Start programs would be eliminated in the president’s budget proposal. While the draft plan released May 2 showed the administration reversed course, anxiety remains about the future of Head Start, a program that serves nearly 12,000 children across Oregon.
“It’s not fair to kids or parents,” Pridgen said, while patting her son as he rested on her shoulder. “I can’t imagine trying to make sure your kid is prepared for kindergarten while working a full-time job, and cleaning the household. It’s impossible. It’s absolutely impossible.”
Uncertain future remains
Nancy Perin is executive director of the nonprofit Oregon Head Start Association and Charleen Strauch is executive director of nonprofit Head Start of Lane County (HSOLC). They said nearly 300 families in Lane County would lose access to services without federal funding.
The national Office of Head Start provides 80 percent of funding for county programs — and if that falls through, existing state and local support won’t be enough to serve all families. Head Start of Lane County’s current grant runs through September, but its future depends on the federal budget. So while news of the draft budget that spared Head Start brought some relief, national headlines declaring Head Start’s survival didn’t capture the work still ahead.
“We’re not completely out of the woods yet,” said Strauch, who also serves as board president of the Oregon Head Start Association.
“I wouldn’t say that Head Start has been saved yet,” Perin said. “Until we see an actual budget, we can’t rest easy.”
Head Start advocates made their voices heard Thursday in Salem. The rally marked the program’s 60th anniversary — a milestone made possible, in part, by decades of persistent organizing and the determination of families through changing presidential administrations.
“One of the things we do so well in Head Start is understanding the power of our own voice,” Strauch said. “What we do with our families is teach the parents and teach children how to use their voice, to ask for what they need to speak up when things don’t feel right.”
Federal representatives of these advocates, such as Sen. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, have pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy in letters about the ongoing uncertainty facing Head Start.
In January, Head Start of Lane County’s funds were paused and later unfrozen. In early April, five regional Head Start offices closed, including one in Seattle, which helps with delegating grants and resources to Oregon. A few weeks later, mid-April, more than 900 families in Southern Oregon were told their Head Start program might shut down amid another federal funding freeze.
And these are cuts that don’t just affect families but also jobs; nearly 1,700 jobs are supported through federal funding.
Oregon received more than $195 million in federal funding for nearly 30 Head Start programs last year, including Head Start of Lane County.
As of April, all Head Start programs remained open, according to the state Department of Early Learning and Care.
More than just school
For decades, Head Start has received bipartisan support for its early childhood programming. It improves educational outcomes throughout the child’s life and helps break cycles of generational poverty, economic analysis and academic research shows. One evaluation shows that every dollar invested generates $2 in future earnings for children enrolled in the program.
Pridgen has seen the program’s impact both on paper and in real life. Before Otis was born, she served on a policy council for Lane County Head Start. From Florence to Oakridge, she’s heard how comprehensive services have supported a family’s entire well-being.
She’s watched it happen in her own family, as the program taught her children healthy behaviors early in life while also helping her family make ends meet. Head Start provided holistic support — not just for her kids, but for the whole household. Through the program, she’s also received food boxes and help with electric bills.
“It’s so much more than just a school,” she said. “It’s irreplaceable.”
