Half the Head Start Field Offices Shuttered, Raising Concerns about Services to Young Children
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the closure of half its 10 field offices, closing its Boston, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle offices. The offices provide guidance, support, and oversight to local Head Start programs, which serve approximately 800,000 children and pregnant women nationwide.
Approximately 13 percent, or more than 100,000 children with disabilities and their families, are identified and receive services and support through Head Start. The closures are part of a broader reduction in the HHS workforce that included cutting thousands of employees across the Agency, including eliminating the Administration for Community Living, which supports people with disabilities and older adults to live independently and participate fully in their communities. I
n a letter led by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) seeking more details about the closures and staff terminations, 25 Senators expressed concern that it will “compound the challenges already facing these programs and services, including the lack of timely and transparent information, with no clear planning nor considerations for how early childhood services will be impacted.” Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) invited HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to testify before their Committee about these changes.