Just a couple of blocks from the campus for teen moms where I used to teach in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was an older elementary school that had been renovated to host a Head Start and Early Head Start childhood education program. One of the benefits of having a high school campus designed for teen moms was that we provided a state-licensed childcare center on campus for babies from two weeks to two years … but it sometimes was full.
Our students were allowed two weeks of maternity leave after a vaginal delivery and three weeks after a Caesarian, meaning we served children as young as two weeks old. Childcare worker ratios in the three baby and toddler rooms in the childcare facility allowed us to accept those youngest babies if they were healthy. The program consistently was awarded top-tier status by Oklahoma’s state accreditation agency.
Generally, we had a two-year cap on the time a girl could utilize our program, but there were certain situations when students were allowed to stay a bit longer. It might depend on how close to the end of a school year or graduation a student was, or in rare cases, when a student threatened to drop out of school if we made her leave our program.
Because an on-campus childcare center was one of the major benefits we offered students, it was sometimes at its peak capacity of 20 children. There were times when enrollment of teen moms swelled beyond what our childcare center could accommodate. Some students had family members who cared for those children. In other cases when childcare was full, students tended to enroll their children in the nearby Head Start/Early Head Start program. It was still convenient for students and provided excellent care for their children.
Programs like Head Start are a godsend to families who live at or below federal poverty guidelines, because they give children solid foundations for school and provide no-cost childcare for working parents. Children are supported from birth to age five at Head Start centers, when Early Head Start is also housed there. Head Start effectively prepares children from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter school on level with their peers.
In addition to educational benefits, the programs promote healthy habits like physical activity, healthy eating, and personal hygiene. Families are supported through parenting classes and strategies for economic stability. There are supports for children with special needs as well. Each Head Start program assesses needs in their community to tailor programs to meet them.
Head Start is funded through the US Department of Health and Human Services. School districts, non-profit or for-profit groups, faith-based organizations, tribal councils and other organizations can qualify to operate a program in their community. Families must qualify for enrollment based on income. Children with disabilities, children in foster care, or children who are homeless are often included as well.
Since 1965, Head Start has served 40 million children and their families. Children who have participated in Head Start programs are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college. They’re typically better prepared for the school environment educationally, socially, and emotionally. The impacts of an early environment like the one Head Start offers pays great dividends throughout a child’s life.
Last week, I learned from an Education Week article that federal funding for the Head Start program is in jeopardy. The White House is preparing its budget request to Congress for the 2026 fiscal year and it wants to eliminate funding for Head Start as part of recommended deep cuts at the DHS.
This would be catastrophic for the children and families—most of them poor—who would be unable to afford services of this quality elsewhere. The rationale for the cuts is the same that is being used for most federal budget cuts in the current administration: returning control of education and other services to the states. It’s another act of heartlessness under the guise of “parental control.” Let’s be clear: this means such programs will cease to exist except for the wealthy.
This recent funding threat is in line with the Trump administration’s determination to dismantle the Department of Education and strangle public schools. It’s also in line with their general assault on programs that benefit low-income families. This, among many other cruelties, will be felt for generations.
Janice Airhart 