Shaheen Blasts Trump Administration’s Attacks on Head Start, Demands RFK Jr. Immediately Release Funding and Reverse Firings
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined 41 of her colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calling out the Trump administration’s direct attacks on Head Start and demanding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) immediately release Head Start funding and reverse the mass firing of Head Start staff and gutting of the offices that help ensure high-quality services are available for thousands of children and families across the country. The letter to RFK Jr. follows Shaheen’s visit to Community Action Partnership Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties’ (CAPHR) Opportunity Center in Manchester where she highlighted the importance of Head Start to Granite State working families.
The Senators wrote, in part: “We write to express our strong opposition to the actions you have taken to directly attack and undermine the federal Head Start program. Since day one, this Administration has taken unacceptable actions to withhold and delay funding, fire Head Start staff, and gut high-quality services for children. Already this year, this Administration has withheld almost $1 billion in federal grant funding from Head Start programs, a 37 percent decrease compared to the amount of funding awarded during the same period last year. It is abundantly clear that these actions are part of a broader effort to ultimately eliminate the program altogether, as the Administration reportedly plans to do in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.”
They continued: “Head Start provides early childhood education and comprehensive health and social services to nearly 800,000 young children every year in communities across this country, and employs about 250,000 dedicated staff. Head Start is a critical source of child care for working families, particularly in rural and Tribal communities, where Head Start programs are often the only option for high-quality child care services. Head Start programs ensure children receive appropriate health and dental care, nutrition support, and referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support.”
They concluded: “We believe it is obvious that eliminating Head Start would be detrimental to hundreds of thousands of children and families. Similarly, we believe it is obvious that delaying funding like we have seen over the last two months, forcing Head Start programs to close, and leaving families to scramble to find quality, affordable alternatives puts the education and well-being of some of the most vulnerable young children in America at risk. In our view, that is unacceptable. Therefore, we urge you to immediately reinstate fired staff across all Offices of Head Start, and cease all actions to delay the awarding and disbursement of funding to Head Start programs across this country.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Senator Shaheen has been a leader in advocating for more affordable and accessible child care. This week, she also visited the YMCA of Greater Nashua’s Merrimack Branch to discuss New Hampshire’s child care crisis and provider shortage. Shaheen recently introduced the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act that would permanently expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC). In March, Shaheen introduced the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act and the Child Care Workforce Act—bipartisan, bicameral legislation that together form a bold proposal to make child care more affordable and accessible by strengthening existing tax credits to lower child care costs and increase the supply of child care providers. The bill includes language from Shaheen’s Right Start Child Care and Education Act legislation. She also joined the introduction of the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, which would increase federal investments in child care. She has also joined in the introduction of the bipartisan Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act to address the national shortage of affordable, quality child care, especially in rural communities.
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