Latest news with #TwoRiversHeadStart
CBS News
09-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Some Head Start programs still having trouble accessing federal money after Trump funding freeze
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As President Trump continues making cuts to federal programs and funding, Democratic leaders in Illinois are warning about how this is affecting families involved with the Head Start early childhood education program. Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth were at Two Rivers Head Start in Elgin on Saturday, and said ever since Trump ordered a federal funding freeze last week, they've had difficulty accessing federal money, even though courts have blocked the president's move. Duckworth said, even though the White House has said the memo ordering a freeze on funding for federal assistance has been rescinded, and courts have ordered the Trump administration to stop the freeze, some organizations that rely on federal grants already have been hurt by the confusion that the unexpected order created. "If you think Trump's illegal funding freeze is actually paused, and the financial pain that many are feeling is paused along with it, well you would be wrong. The financial setbacks triggered by Trump's illegal freeze are cruelly forcing providers to weigh impossible decisions, like how they'll pay to both keep their lights on and feed the children who depend on them," she said. Kelly Neidel, executive director of Two Rivers Head Start, said in her 35 years with the organization, they've always had bipartisan support in Congress to fund Head Start programs. As a nonprofit, they rely heavily on federal funding to run day-to-day operations. "We can't set a bunch of money aside. I wish we could, I wish we had a secret stash, but we don't. So when it goes day-to-day, and literally I was waking up at 2 o'clock in the morning checking our bank account. Did we have money? Are we going to have to let the staff go tomorrow? You know, it's a constant," she said. Many other Head Start programs across the country also have had trouble accessing federal funds. Unlike regular pre-schools, Head Start often helps students and their families with things like food, clothes, and housing. "Despite what Donald Trump and Elon Musk think, these aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet. These are people. They're real people. They're working parents. They're children whose lives Donald Trump is playing games with," Pritzker said. According to the Illinois Head Start Association, they've served more than 24,000 families.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Aurora-area groups share concerns about possible federal funding cuts
If President Donald Trump's freeze on federal grants and loans had gone into effect, or if the Trump administration cuts federal funding that was targeted with the freeze, then 286 men, women and children currently helped by Aurora's Hesed House would immediately be back on the streets experiencing unsheltered homelessness. That's what Hesed House Executive Director Joe Jackson told a group of around 20 representatives from local civic organizations, governments and others who met Friday at the Aurora Public Library's West Branch to share their concerns with U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, about things the Trump administration has done or said it might do, and how those impact their respective organizations. Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has signed a number of executive orders touching a variety of issues like climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The president's Office of Management and Budget also put out a memo that froze all federal grants and loans until they could be reviewed to see if they aligned with the president's executive orders, but after the freeze was challenged in court and paused by a federal judge, the memo was rescinded. For Hesed House, possible federal funding cuts would not only take away funds needed to keep those 286 people from unsheltered homelessness, but also funds used to help staff the organization's homeless shelter, according to Jackson. Because of this, the shelter would have to cut roughly 100 beds, he said. That's over a third of the newly-expanded shelter's 280 beds, and Jackson said the shelter is already reaching capacity. Any cuts to its federal funding would also force the nonprofit organization to pause or scrap a supportive housing project and would put at risk homeless prevention programs that last year helped to prevent around 650 households from needing to come to Hesed House, among other impacts, Jackson said. Although the Association for Individual Development, or AID, did not have a representative at the meeting, Jackson said that the organization relies on Medicaid for pretty much all of its mental health services, that Medicaid is a primary form of health care for most of the people Hesed House serves, and that Hesed House 'would not exist' without those mental health services. Two Rivers Head Start, a federally-funded early childhood education organization based in Aurora, was preparing to lay off 75 or more of its employees because of the federal funding freeze, Ruth Vargas said. Eventually, the organization was given guidance that it would not be impacted, but many families are still scared to bring their children to Head Start because they are refugees or immigrants, she said. The organization is just uncertain about what the future may hold, since whatever impacts them will impact the entire community, Vargas said. According to Mayra Sandoval, who also attended the meeting to represent Two Rivers Head Start, the organization has emergency rental and utility assistance programs, a food pantry, scholarships and more in addition to its early childhood education programs. Kara Murphy of the DuPage Health Coalition said many of the families that the organization serves won't go to the doctor, to school, to church or to them after the Trump administration threw out some guidelines limiting where immigration-related arrests could take place. This will likely compromise people's health and safety, especially if people ignore health concerns, she said. Aurora University is also seeing a similar trend, according to Senior Vice President Meg Howes. She said some students are not coming to campus, and many students and their families are afraid. The impact really will be on the Aurora community, she said, since the university graduates many nurses, teachers and social workers that stay right here, Howes said. Also, if the federal government stops giving Pell Grants, it will 'demolish our program' since many students rely on those grants, she said. 'There's just a real fragility to our ability to manage the programs, keep them in school and keep them safe,' Howes said. 'Our students are really feeling that they're not cared for by the greater structure and are at great risk.' Waubonsee Community College is also seeing a drop in student attendance, especially at its downtown Aurora location, according to Interim Vice President of Finance and Administration Josh Bryant. Another concern of the college is that it has the equivalent of about 15 full-time positions funded by federal grants, and although those grants primarily focus on tutoring and career counseling to low-income students, many of have some diversity, equity or inclusion element to them, he said. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, also called DEI, have been a target of the Trump administration since the president took office. Bryant said the college is worried about how the federal government will define DEI, and how that definition will impact the grants currently funding those 15 positions. The college also has other federal funding that goes directly to help students in the form of refunds to help them pay for transportation, housing and more, he said. Staff members from the cities of Batavia and Geneva said they get millions of dollars of federal funding for infrastructure projects like roads and the replacement of lead water pipes. A number of Kane County departments would also be impacted by any cuts to federal funding, including departments in charge of health, water resources and transpiration, among others, according to Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog. She said Kane County is also not allowed to be a part of the World Health Organization, which is restricting the flow of health data. rsmith@
Chicago Tribune
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Aurora-area groups share concerns about possible federal funding cuts
If President Donald Trump's freeze on federal grants and loans had gone into effect, or if the Trump administration cuts federal funding that was targeted with the freeze, then 286 men, women and children currently helped by Aurora's Hesed House would immediately be back on the streets experiencing unsheltered homelessness. That's what Hesed House Executive Director Joe Jackson told a group of around 20 representatives from local civic organizations, governments and others who met Friday at the Aurora Public Library's West Branch to share their concerns with U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, about things the Trump administration has done or said it might do, and how those impact their respective organizations. Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has signed a number of executive orders touching a variety of issues like climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The president's Office of Management and Budget also put out a memo that froze all federal grants and loans until they could be reviewed to see if they aligned with the president's executive orders, but after the freeze was challenged in court and paused by a federal judge, the memo was rescinded. For Hesed House, possible federal funding cuts would not only take away funds needed to keep those 286 people from unsheltered homelessness, but also funds used to help staff the organization's homeless shelter, according to Jackson. Because of this, the shelter would have to cut roughly 100 beds, he said. That's over a third of the newly-expanded shelter 's 280 beds, and Jackson said the shelter is already reaching capacity. Any cuts to its federal funding would also force the nonprofit organization to pause or scrap a supportive housing project and would put at risk homeless prevention programs that last year helped to prevent around 650 households from needing to come to Hesed House, among other impacts, Jackson said. Although the Association for Individual Development, or AID, did not have a representative at the meeting, Jackson said that the organization relies on Medicaid for pretty much all of its mental health services, that Medicaid is a primary form of health care for most of the people Hesed House serves, and that Hesed House 'would not exist' without those mental health services. Two Rivers Head Start, a federally-funded early childhood education organization based in Aurora, was preparing to lay off 75 or more of its employees because of the federal funding freeze, Ruth Vargas said. Eventually, the organization was given guidance that it would not be impacted, but many families are still scared to bring their children to Head Start because they are refugees or immigrants, she said. The organization is just uncertain about what the future may hold, since whatever impacts them will impact the entire community, Vargas said. According to Mayra Sandoval, who also attended the meeting to represent Two Rivers Head Start, the organization has emergency rental and utility assistance programs, a food pantry, scholarships and more in addition to its early childhood education programs. Kara Murphy of the DuPage Health Coalition said many of the families that the organization serves won't go to the doctor, to school, to church or to them after the Trump administration threw out some guidelines limiting where immigration-related arrests could take place. This will likely compromise people's health and safety, especially if people ignore health concerns, she said. Aurora University is also seeing a similar trend, according to Senior Vice President Meg Howes. She said some students are not coming to campus, and many students and their families are afraid. The impact really will be on the Aurora community, she said, since the university graduates many nurses, teachers and social workers that stay right here, Howes said. Also, if the federal government stops giving Pell Grants, it will 'demolish our program' since many students rely on those grants, she said. 'There's just a real fragility to our ability to manage the programs, keep them in school and keep them safe,' Howes said. 'Our students are really feeling that they're not cared for by the greater structure and are at great risk.' Waubonsee Community College is also seeing a drop in student attendance, especially at its downtown Aurora location, according to Interim Vice President of Finance and Administration Josh Bryant. Another concern of the college is that it has the equivalent of about 15 full-time positions funded by federal grants, and although those grants primarily focus on tutoring and career counseling to low-income students, many of have some diversity, equity or inclusion element to them, he said. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, also called DEI, have been a target of the Trump administration since the president took office. Bryant said the college is worried about how the federal government will define DEI, and how that definition will impact the grants currently funding those 15 positions. The college also has other federal funding that goes directly to help students in the form of refunds to help them pay for transportation, housing and more, he said. Staff members from the cities of Batavia and Geneva said they get millions of dollars of federal funding for infrastructure projects like roads and the replacement of lead water pipes. A number of Kane County departments would also be impacted by any cuts to federal funding, including departments in charge of health, water resources and transpiration, among others, according to Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog. She said Kane County is also not allowed to be a part of the World Health Organization, which is restricting the flow of health data.
