Editor’s note: This piece was first published by First Focus on Children on April 25, 2025 and is cross-posted with permission. It was written by Averi Pakulis, Vice President of Early Childhood and Public Health Policy, and Lily Klam, Senior Director of Early Childhood and Education Policy at First Focus. First Focus on Children is a member of the Coalition on Human Needs.

Recent reports indicate that the Trump Administration plans to make good on Project 2025’s promise to eliminate the Head Start program, which provides comprehensive early learning and development, health and well-being, and family engagement and support services to low-income children ages zero to 5. This misguided plan would eliminate high-quality, affordable child care slots at the very time there is a crisis in care across our country. The move would harm children, their families, early childhood professionals, and our national economy.

The Trump Administration has made children a political target, which is not only immoral, it’s costly. Kids can’t vote, and they don’t have political action committees or lobbying power. But investing in children leads to better health outcomes, higher educational attainment, and increased earnings as adults. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that every dollar the federal government invests in programs that benefit children yields $10 or more in societal returns.

The Administration has had Head Start in its sights since it took office, ensnaring the program in the funding freeze announced in January – which was quickly reversed after an uproar from early learning advocates and members of Congress. In late March, the Trump Administration announced plans to cut approximately 10,000 jobs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including 30-45% of staff at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), which administers Head Start as well as important programs in child care and child welfare. Five of 10 regional ACF offices have closed since then, eliminating Head Start and other staff in those offices. Regional offices provide near constant communication between HHS and the states and jurisdictions implementing HHS programs. This includes oversight of grantees to ensure the integrity of federal programs, fielding technical assistance and program questions, and ensuring health and safety standards for children are met.

Head Start currently serves over 775,000 children and their families, including children with disabilities, those in foster care, and children experiencing homelessness. The program has served more than 40 million children and families throughout its history. The Head Start program includes preschool and child care for children ages 3 and 4; care and home visiting through Early Head Start for infants, toddlers, and expectant families; the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start program; and the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program. Services under Head Start are provided in a variety of settings, including home visiting, center-based, and family child care, giving families many choices. In fact, Head Start prioritizes the inclusion of parents as partners in decisions and operations. The program produces both short- and long-term positive results for kids and families.

Eliminating Head Start would decimate child care and other family services for hundreds of thousands of families that rely on it and increase inequity in early learning. There is already an early learning and child care crisis in this country, with child care being least affordable and accessible for Black, Hispanic, and low-income working parents. Under current funding levels, Head Start is only able to serve 33% of eligible families, Early Head Start serves 11%, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) serves 15% of families who qualify.

Costs for care are astronomical and would climb even higher by eliminating Head Start. In 2023, the cost to a family of child care for two children in a center was more than annual mortgage payments in 45 states and the District of Columbia. The cost of child care for an infant at a center was more than in-state tuition at a public university in 39 states and D.C. CCDBG, which is only able to offer child care assistance to a fraction of eligible families, would be unable to absorb families that formerly received Head Start services. Eliminating Head Start would leave countless families without an option for care for their children, putting their job security and our national economy at risk. Instead of solving the child care crisis, eliminating Head Start would exacerbate it. Without Head Start, families that depend on these services may be unable to afford the high expense of alternatives and be forced out of the workforce.

The child care sector still has not recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and has not been able to permanently increase wages and benefits to attract and keep teachers. Lawmakers provided approximately $50 billion in emergency funding to the sector during the pandemic, all of which has since expired. In states that have not addressed this shortfall, the share of families who need child care and do not have it increased from 17.8% to 23.1%. States used this pandemic-era funding to eliminate copays for families, increase compensation for early learning teachers, reduce waiting lists, and expand child care assistance eligibility. These funds also increased women’s participation in the workforce.

Increased investments in early learning programs have proven effective. Research has shown they produce positive results for children and their families. Eliminating programs that currently serve low-income families is not progress. The President’s plan would inexplicably attempt to address our crisis in child care access and affordability by eliminating existing child care slots and limiting parent choice. We urge Congress to fulfill its responsibility to fund national priorities and continue its support for Head Start and vital early childhood programs in this country.