Head Start could be threatened under Trump

Susan Dunlap, New Mexico Political Report

This article was originally published by New Mexico Political Report.

A popular program that enjoys bipartisan support, Head Start, could be under threat under a second Donald Trump administration.

Project 2025 calls for the elimination of Head Start. It is a free program that provides education to young children in low-income families as well as wrap-around services. Casey Peeks, senior director of early childhood policy for the Center for American Progress, told NM Political Report that Head Start could become a target of the second Trump administration because it is a large line item in the annual budget.

She said Head Start costs roughly $12 billion annually. 

“That’s one reason it’s being targeted because they want to cut federal spending and it’s one of the largest discretionary domestic programs. I don’t agree with the assertion, but in Project 2025, they claim there is no proof that Head Start has any long-term benefits to children,” Peeks said. 

She said there is significant data and studies that indicate that Head Start is of enormous benefit to children in low-income families. 

Peeks said that when she was a kindergarten teacher, she could tell on day one which children had had access to high-quality childcare. She said that children who do not have high-quality care prior to attending school suffer in school readiness not only in terms of educational development but also in social and emotional development. 

Peeks said school readiness is important for early literacy and math skills. If children struggle in school early on, they can develop negative attitudes that impact learning as they progress through their educational attainment. 

“They won’t enjoy school. If they struggle, then they’ll think academics are not for them, they can’t excel through no fault of their own. Access to Head Start yields lifetime results. Students are more likely to get a high school diploma and are less reliant on safety net programs later on,” Peeks said.

Another factor that Head Start provides is free childcare for working parents. If Head Start should be eliminated, it could lead many families to rely on a patchwork of low-quality childcare which can hinder educational development, Peeks said.

Head Start also provides wrap-around services, including prenatal care for pregnant individuals, Peeks said.

In addition, children tend to thrive better when their families are financially stable. So if a lack of childcare causes disruptions to the parents’ ability to work, that also causes disruptions in paychecks and brings economic distress to the parents. That trickles down to the child’s needs, Peeks said.

Jacob Vigil, deputy policy director for New Mexico Voices for Children, told NM Political Report that Head Start is “crucial” to enabling many women in New Mexico to stay in the workforce.

He said Head Start, since its inception in 1965, has reached 40 million children across the U.S. 

“It’s one of the most effective anti-poverty programs for the most vulnerable kids in our country. Head Start continues to be a huge part of the rural childcare system,” Vigil said. 

The New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department maintains a strong partnership with Head Start and Early Head Start. ECECD declined to comment for this story.

In addition to Head Start, the state receives federal grants for childcare and early child development. But Peeks said those grants were not named in Project 2025 and she doesn’t think there is the same fear that they could be eliminated. 

She said the first Trump administration wanted significant reductions in those grants but the 2018 federal budget saw an increase in the funding instead due to budget choices made by Congress.

Peeks said, similarly, a second Trump administration could seek funding cuts a second time. If successful, it could mean children could lose childcare access, she said. 

Vigil said a lot of home visiting services are paid for through Medicaid coverage. The state proposed earlier this year to expand home visiting and reach more parents by leveraging more federal Medicaid dollars. But under a Republican trifecta at the federal level, there is concern that Medicaid will be targeted for significant cuts in the federal budget.

“We would be fearful of any impact to those funding streams,” Vigil said. 

Peeks said Head Start has a separate program for Native Americans to “meet the unique needs of the children who live in and around Tribal lands.”

She said that this year, President Joe Biden signed into law a measure that allows Tribal communities to make all of their children eligible to participate in Head Start.

“It gives a lot more autonomy to the Tribes to deliver Head Start services in a way that meets the Tribes’ individual needs,” Peeks said.

She said Head Start also helps migrant families and offers some programs around seasonal migrant work schedules. Peeks said that Head Start enrolls children who live in mixed-status migrant households.

“Many agricultural workers were taking their children with them to work because they had no other options. It’s not the best environment for young children. It started as an option for those workers to have a safe place for their child during the day. Services are provided in multiple languages,” Peeks said.

Because Head Start has enjoyed bipartisan support over the years, it has not become a political wedge issue in the larger national conversation, Peeks said.

“To have Head Start become a partisan issue potentially would really hurt advocacy efforts,” Peeks said.

Susan Dunlap is a reporter for New Mexico Political Report.