As President Donald Trump changes, freezes, and cuts federal programs, some in Charlotte are apprehensive about what this uncertainty means for child care programs. That apprehension comes after federal funding recently went down for some of the area's grant recipients.
Head Start and Early Head Start funding distributed by the federal government play a critical role in helping low-income families afford quality child care, plus support for children’s development, emotional and psychological needs. Late last month, some of Charlotte’s grant recipients were unable to access funds for several hours.
Janet Singerman is president and CEO of Child Care Resources Inc., one of the area’s early Head Start grant recipients.
“We're concerned about what is this indicative of for our future direction and of course that causes all who are concerned about this inadequately financed early care and education system, it causes concern,” Singerman said.
Singerman warned that if the payment mechanism were down for longer, the impacts would be worse. Other nonprofits and grant recipients across the U.S. have had their payments frozen for longer, and some, like refugee resettlement agencies, have laid off or furloughed staff.
The brief Head Start freeze coincided with the Trump administration's efforts late last month to pause distribution of federal payments and grants. A federal judge put a block on the administration's efforts. But Monday, a federal Judge found Trump’s administration had continued to freeze some federal funds.
A recent survey by the National Head Start Association found that as of last week, at least 45 grant recipients serving nearly 20,000 families and children were still experiencing delays in accessing funds, including recipients in more than 20 states.
