Senator Reverend Warnock is one of two Head Start alumni to ever serve in the Senate
Senator Reverend Warnock is a founding member of the Head Start Caucus
The Trump Administration’s funding freeze hindered Georgia Head Start programs’ ability to pay staff and keep educational and child care programs up and running
Senator Reverend Warnock previously introduced the bipartisan HEADWAY Act (Head Start Education and Development Workforce Advancement and Yield Act)
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) led a group of his colleagues in leading an effort to Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Dorothy A. Fink, M.D. and Acting Director of the Office of Head Start Captain Tala Hooban expressing concern about the financial impacts and lingering uncertainty faced by Head Start programs in Georgia and across the country as a result of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) memo that imposed a government-wide hiring freeze.
“Head Start programs cannot pay their teachers and staff and continue normal operations without the assurances of payment processing and notices of grant renewals and awards,” wrote the senators. “This will impact children, families, and communities across the country, particularly the rural communities where these programs represent a large share of the child care options.”
While the White House later clarified that Head Start would not be targeted by the funding freeze and the OMB later rescinded memo, Head Start programs were temporarily unable to access the Payment Management System (PMS) to use their allocated federal funds. As a result, Head Start programs nationwide have not had funding disbursed in a timely manner – imperiling their ability to pay staff and keep educational and child care programs up and running.
“Even if this issue extends beyond the Office of Head Start, we urge you to do everything in your power to ensure these programs receive transparent and frequent communication on the progress of their funds being released. Head Start programs operate on razor-thin margins and cannot survive without timely intervention. Children, families, employees, and educators all depend on these critical federal funds,” the senators continued.
Studies show that Head Start students have a higher likelihood of graduating high school, attending college, receiving a post-secondary degree, license, or certification, and are more likely to invest time in their own children’s education.
As a Head Start alum, Senator Warnock has been a strong advocate for the program. Senator Warnock introduced his bipartisan HEADWAY Act (Head Start Education and Development Workforce Advancement and Yield Act). The legislation, which is co-led by Senator Mike Braun (R-IN), would address early child care workforce shortages by allowing Early Head Start classroom teachers to teach and earn their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential simultaneously. Additionally, in August of 2023, Senator Warnock returned to his hometown of Savannah, Georgia to tour Early Head Start classrooms at the Economic Opportunity Authority (EOA) for Savannah-Chatham County and hear from local early learning leaders about the workforce shortages impacting this critical early education program serving low-income families and their children.
In addition to Senators Warnock and author of the letter Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), the letter was cosigned by Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Andy Kim (D-NJ).
The letter can be viewed HERE and is below.
Dear Acting Secretary Dr. Fink and Acting Director Captain Hooban:
We are writing today to raise ongoing, urgent concerns experienced by Head Start programs in our states and across the country. These concerns include (1) a lack of clarity on the status of renewals and notice of awards in the February 1st grant cycle, (2) delays in processing reimbursements through the Payment Management System (PMS), and (3) a lack of clear communication with grantees throughout this confusing time.
We request your immediate action and assurance on the following:
- All requests for disbursements of funds submitted through PMS to be promptly processed to allow all Head Start programs to draw down federal funds;
- Programs on the February 1st grant cycle will be notified of their renewal or notice of award before the deadline to ensure no lapse in funding or program operations; and
- Transparent and consistent communication with Head Start programs to address the ongoing challenges.
Since its inception in 1965, Head Start has provided critical early childhood education and comprehensive services to nearly 40 million low-income young children and their families in communities across the nation. Today, Head Start programs are supported by 250,000 staff to serve nearly 800,000 children across the nation. Head Start’s comprehensive services ensure children receive age-appropriate health care, dental care, immunizations, and health insurance, and they provide referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support. For the last several years, Congress has worked in a bipartisan manner to recognize this longstanding federal program’s important work by providing increased appropriations.
Since the morning of Tuesday, January 28th, the Head Start community has faced immense uncertainty and disruptions by the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) memo (M-25-13), directing federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.” While the Trump Administration later clarified that Head Start would not be the target of the funding freeze, many Head Start programs across the country were unable to access the PMS to draw down federal funds. PMS was reinstated, but programs across the country have not had funding disbursed in a timely manner.
Head Start programs cannot pay their teachers and staff and continue normal operations without the assurances of payment processing and notices of grant renewals and awards. This will impact children, families, and communities across the country, particularly the rural communities where these programs represent a large share of the child care options.
Even if this issue extends beyond the Office of Head Start, we urge you to do everything in your power to ensure these programs receive transparent and frequent communication on the progress of their funds being released. Head Start programs operate on razor-thin margins and cannot survive without timely intervention. Children, families, employees, and educators all depend on these critical federal funds.
Once these issues are resolved, we request you provide responses to the following questions:
- What factors contributed to delayed disbursements to Head Start programs through the Payment Management System? What steps will be taken to ensure such delays will not occur in the future?
- How many Head Start programs were impacted by this delay and what were the immediate consequences on operations and services for children and families?
- What factors led to the lack of communication about grant renewals and awards for the February 1st cycle? What steps will be taken to ensure timely notices in the future?
We thank you for your quick attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
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