Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Dayton mother Tonica Bradley said the removal of this program would be devastating to families like hers.
“Parents will make unbearable sacrifices for their kids, but this could put parents in a jeopardizing situation,” Bradley said. “This could make any household crumble.”
Bradley’s children, a two-year-old and four-year-old, attend a Dayton-area early childhood learning center through the Miami Valley Child Development Center.
The MVCDC receives 85% of its funding through Head Start. The region’s network of child care locations serves 2,000 families across Montgomery, Clark and Madison counties, according to MVCDC CEO Berta Velilla. Head Start impacts nearly 3,000 children in the region.
The White House budget proposal “does not fund Head Start,” according to the draft. It says eliminating the program is consistent with the Trump administration’s “goals of returning control of education to the states and increasing parental control.”
It is not clear if the proposed cuts will be accepted by lawmakers. While Congress often ignores a president’s budget request, the proposed elimination of Head Start highlights the administration’s priorities as President Donald Trump seeks to overhaul education in the United States.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Velilla said no decisions have been made and no funding has been cut as of this week — but losing Head Start funding would be devastating to child care centers.
“Our doors are open and we are serving families,” Vellila said. “We want our families to know that we are here for them. But the thought of Head Start going away after 60 years is very scary for us.”
Bradley said that Head Start is so much more than a preschool program. Her children have received meals and health screenings through Head Start, and Bradley said she’s been amazed by how much her children have blossomed in Head Start programming.
“It’s not even just shapes, ABC’s and math skills,” she said. “They’re learning general life skills. My two-year-old can hold a conversation with you, it’s amazing.”
The first five years of a child’s life are crucial, as 90% of brain development occurs within that time, according to Groundwork Ohio executive director Lynanne Gutierrez. Her organization is an advocacy group for early childhood development and child care policy.
“We know low-income children can be up to two years behind their higher-income peers by kindergarten,” Gutierrez said. “Investing early is really important to close those gaps where they begin and provide them an opportunity to learn and begin to have that strong foundation for life. This is really determining not just their kindergarten readiness, but their longer-term lifelong outcomes.”
Child care challenges
The proposal comes at a time when child care options nationally, for families of any income, are scarce and costly. Groundwork Ohio estimated in 2023 that, on average, child care ranged from $9,580 annually for preschool care and $12,351 for infant care.
“This is oftentimes the only option for lower-income, working families to be able to participate in the workforce,” Gutierrez said. “Meanwhile, prices are going up for families on pretty much everything. Our families are getting hit with existential threats and real things burning at their pocketbook day to day.”
In Ohio, more than 21,000 Head Start parents are employed, in school, or in a job training program and could not do so without Head Start services, said Ohio Head Start Association Inc. Executive Director Julie Stone.
“Head Start programs provide child-centered, family-focused, multi-generational, comprehensive community-based services to Ohio’s most vulnerable children and families,” Stone said. “This includes pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and children up to age 5, whose income is less than the Federal Poverty Level and those children who are experiencing homelessness, in foster care and kinship families. And Head Start services are uniquely available to children with disabilities and other special needs.”
The First Five Years Fund, an early childhood development advocacy group, estimates that there are 812,000 children ages 5 and under in Ohio — 67% of these children have all available parents in the workforce.
Bradley said this is the case for her family: she works a day shift in the social work field, while her fiancé works the night shift at an area factory. Without Head Start and with no family in the area to help with child care, Bradley said she would likely have to shift to part-time work, while her husband would attempt to take on more hours. But overtime work is never guaranteed, Bradley said.
“We are already having these conversations. We’ve come up with our Plan A, but there is no Plan B,” she said. “And I feel like we’re not alone in that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
