American Families To Congress: End the Shutdown. Protect Head Start.
UPDATE: 11/13/25
After 43 days, the federal shutdown has officially ended. In the days ahead, Congress should act quickly to provide increased stability for families by passing a spending bill that funds child care and early learning programs like Head Start through Fiscal Year 2026. Passing the remaining Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill and prioritizing federal investment in early childhood care and education are vital steps for supporting young children and families.
Update: November 10
What’s New: Last night (Sunday, November 9) the Senate took a step forward in ending the longest government shutdown in United States history. The 60-40 vote paves the way to fund most federal agencies through January.
What’s Next: Last night’s vote will allow the Senate to formally debate the measure and hold a final vote. It must be approved by both houses of Congress then signed by President Trump to end the shutdown. This could happen as soon as later this week.
What’s Needed: As Congress continues the work of reopening the government, it is important for them to do the following on behalf of young children and their families:
- Continue the path forward to re-open the government, allowing Congress to return to regular order.
- Swiftly restore lost funding to Head Start programs so they can reopen and return to the work of caring for children.
- Provide stability for families by coming to agreement on a spending package ahead of the new January deadline, funding child care and early learning programs through FY2026.
Update: November 7
As stated earlier, the longer the federal shutdown lasts, the worse the consequences will become. The early learning community is very concerned about an upcoming November 1st deadline.
If Congress fails to act to end the shutdown, tens of thousands of children could lose access to Head Start along.
As the shutdown continues, Head Start programs in 40+ states did not receive their scheduled funding on November 1st. Head Start sites in states across the country have had to close their doors. This leaves thousands of children and families without access to the care, early learning, nutrition, and stability Head Start provides. Check out this page for the latest closure data as the shutdown continues.
See more data and news coverage of the shutdown’s impact on Head Start programs here.
What we’re doing
It’s time for action. Tell your Members of Congress that the shutdown is making life harder for thousands of families with young children. Protect Head Start. End the shutdown today.
And please, spread the word. Encourage your networks, partners, allies, family and friend