Latest news with #WisconsinHeadStartAssociation
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Head Start Child Care Funds Stop For Some Wisconsin Providers, Leaving Them Hanging
This article was originally published in Wisconsin Examiner. More than half a dozen child care centers that serve low-income families through the federal Head Start program have been waiting for more than a week to be repaid for expenses they've already incurred for payroll, supplies and food for the children in their care. Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded programs that provide early education and child care to children from low-income families. Wisconsin has 39 Head Start child care providers serving 16,000 children across the state and employing about 4,500 staff, said Jenny Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association. 'The chaos and uncertainty have been deeply earth-shattering,' Mauer told the Wisconsin Examiner on Tuesday. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Mauer said providers across the state who receive federal grant payments for Head Start have seen delays in receiving their payments. She has been in touch with all 39 and, as of Tuesday, there were seven providers serving about 3,000 children that haven't been paid by the federal government for at least a week, she said. 'This is going to get really serious if this doesn't get resolved soon,' Mauer said. 'We're not getting much in the way of answers. We're not getting good explanations about anything. It's incredibly frustrating.' The Head Start payments stopped at the same time that a Trump administration memo announced a week ago that a broad array of federal grant and loan payments would be suspended. Two federal judges have ordered the White House to halt the suspension in payments, but there have been widespread reports of funds that have still not been released. 'People think the freeze is over,' said Rep. Andrew Hysell (D-Sun Prairie), whose district includes a child care provider affected and who posted a Facebook video decrying the federal action. 'Yet these [federal] agencies are not providing the funds.' Related The National Head Start Association, a membership organization for Head Start child care providers, has reported similar problems across the country. 'We're definitely not alone, that's for sure,' Mauer said. Reach Dane, a Madison child care agency that provides child care for about 1,000 children in Dane and Green counties, is waiting on $600,000 that the nonprofit is due from Head Start, said Jen Bailey, Reach Dane's executive director. The organization had to tap into its bank line of credit after payments failed to come through in the last week. The funds are needed to make payroll for Reach Dane's staff of 250, including child care teachers, people in food service and bus drivers who pick up and drop off children in the program. 'We're kind of flying blind in a chaos storm, trying to figure out what is happening and why,' said Bailey, who is also president of the Wisconsin Head Start Association board. Federal payments to Head Start programs are reimbursements for expenses providers have already incurred. Providers are accustomed to logging into a federal portal, submitting the expense information and receiving a reimbursement in about 24 hours. Reach Dane typically submits its requests for payment once a week or so, Bailey said. A week ago Monday, Reach Dane was unable to log in to the portal at all, however. Late Tuesday, Jan. 28, the portal was once again accessible, and Reach Dane submitted a payment request. A second payment request was submitted on Friday, Jan. 31. 'We have not received either of those,' Bailey said Tuesday. 'As of right now both still show as pending in the system.' In addition to serving Head Start children through its own child care centers, Reach Dane also works with private child care providers who enroll children from low-income families. One private partner is The Playing Field, a nonprofit that operates two child care centers in Madison, one of them on the city's West Side where the enrollment includes Head Start children. Reach Dane pays The Playing Field monthly to cover its Head Start kids. Related Participating in Head Start is part of The Playing Field's mission, said Abbi Kruse, who founded The Playing Field a decade ago with the goal of creating 'an early childhood education program that any family would choose for their child.' From the start the organization's model was to enroll children 'from really different socio-economic and racial backgrounds,' she said, overcoming segregation in all its forms. At the West Side location, enrollment is about one-third children on scholarship, one-third children whose parents can afford the full cost, and one-third who are covered under Head Start or Early Head Start. 'Without that funding, they could not attend our program,' Kruse said. 'Without that funding, we definitely could not sustain our model.' Kruse said that Reach Dane sends a Head Start payment once a month to The Playing Field, which received the February payment on Monday. But if Reach Dane can't resume receiving its federal funds, 'obviously that's not sustainable for them to continue doing that,' she said. Some of the children served by her organization are from families living in shelters, sleeping in cars or hotels for the unhoused, for example, Kruse said. They may rely on The Playing Field not just for child care but for meals and other support, such as parenting classes. 'There's a lot of support for families in our model, and to rip that away from people is just cruel,' Kruse said. Mauer said that providers unable to collect the federal funds they're due are scrambling to meet the shortfall. The federal government requires that recipients must disburse the money they get within three days after collecting it. 'They're not sitting on a set of federal reserves to pay people,' Mauer said. 'This is money for service already rendered.' Providers who are on the hook for funds 'are doing everything they can to keep their doors open,' she said. 'They're talking to creditors, they've opened up lines of credit, they're talking to community partners and moving things around.' If Head Start providers don't survive, the impact on employers could be severe. 'The majority of folks that come to Head Start are working families,' Mauer said. Without child care, 'that would mean those parents would have to make tough choices. It's a terrible situation.' Wisconsin Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Ruth Conniff for questions: info@
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Several Wisconsin Head Start programs struggling to stay open after Trump's federal freeze
Wisconsin Head Start programs are still struggling to recover from the federal freeze on grants and loans ordered by President Donald Trump on Jan. 28. Even though the White House clarified that the freeze wouldn't affect Head Start programs and rescinded the order on Jan. 29, several organizations are still unable to access funds due to website glitches and are scrambling to keep their doors open for families who rely on Head Start's free childcare services. As of Thursday, Wisconsin Head Start Association Executive Director Jennie Mauer said six of the 39 Head Start programs across the state still couldn't access payments. Roughly 3,000 children are enrolled in those six programs, she said. "Programs are really having to move things around in their budgets, and this is going to get dire very soon," said Mauer. April Mullins-Datko, the Head Start director for Fond du Lac nonprofit ADVOCAP, said funds for their four locations are still frozen. She hasn't had to shut down services, but said she will have to if she doesn't receive funding by the end of this month. ADVOCAP's Head Start program serves 202 children from 191 families, Mullins-Datko said, and 93% of the parents who are enrolled are working while their child is in their care. Mullins-Datko said Head Start programs have received little to no communication about when funds will be available again. "We're hearing nothing," she said. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin called for the Trump administration to "immediately resolve" Head Start payment issues on Thursday in a letter to Dorothy Fink, acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Tala Hooban, the acting director for Head Start. Baldwin's letter said she spoke to Head Start programs across Wisconsin about the "devastating impact" of the federal funding freeze. "Head Start is a critical lifeline for families," Baldwin wrote. At a press conference Thursday at the Madison childcare center the Playing Field, Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said Wisconsin was already in a childcare crisis long before Trump took aim at federal grants because of underinvestment by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Parents are already battling yearslong waitlists to get their children into places like the Playing Field, Roys said. 'This is a very scary moment for anyone with young kids,' she said. 'And I think it's really important that people know that.' State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, who joined Roys at the press conference, said losing even one Head Start program could have a ripple effect on the community. 'Simply put, childcare is a cornerstone of our economy," said Underly. "It is foundational to both stability of our families and the vitality of our workforce." Though the Department of Public Instruction does not oversee Head Start programs, Underly said the agency has submitted its proposed budget to Gov. Tony Evers and she is hopeful lawmakers will invest in childcare and early learning. Chelsea Fields, a mother of a 1- and 2-year-old who attend Head Start at the Playing Field, fought tears as she explained how the possibility of losing childcare has been devastating. She is the sole breadwinner in her household. 'I know the workforce needs us," said Fields. "So we're gonna have to compromise somewhere." Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@ Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark. Laura Schulte is a politics reporter for the Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at leschulte@ and on X at @SchulteLaura. Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Head Start programs still reeling from federal freeze
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Head Start child care funds stop for some providers, leaving them hanging
Children outside with a child care teacher at The Playing Field, a Madison child care center that participates in the federal Head Start program. (Courtesy of The Playing Field) More than half a dozen child care centers that serve low-income families through the federal Head Start program have been waiting for more than a week to be repaid for expenses they've already incurred for payroll, supplies and food for the children in their care. Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded programs that provide early education and child care to children from low-income families. Wisconsin has 39 Head Start child care providers serving 16,000 children across the state and employing about 4,500 staff, said Jenny Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association. 'The chaos and uncertainty have been deeply earth-shattering,' Mauer told the Wisconsin Examiner on Tuesday. Mauer said providers across the state who receive federal grant payments for Head Start have seen delays in receiving their payments. She has been in touch with all 39 and, as of Tuesday, there were seven providers serving about 3,000 children that haven't been paid by the federal government for at least a week, she said. 'This is going to get really serious if this doesn't get resolved soon,' Mauer said. 'We're not getting much in the way of answers. We're not getting good explanations about anything. It's incredibly frustrating.' The Head Start payments stopped at the same time that a Trump administration memo announced a week ago that a broad array of federal grant and loan payments would be suspended. Two federal judges have ordered the White House to halt the suspension in payments, but there have been widespread reports of funds that have still not been released. 'People think the freeze is over,' said Rep. Andrew Hysell (D-Sun Prairie), whose district includes a child care provider affected and who posted a Facebook video decrying the federal action. 'Yet these [federal] agencies are not providing the funds.' The National Head Start Association, a membership organization for Head Start child care providers, has reported similar problems across the country. 'We're definitely not alone, that's for sure,' Mauer said. Reach Dane, a Madison child care agency that provides child care for about 1,000 children in Dane and Green counties, is waiting on $600,000 that the nonprofit is due from Head Start, said Jen Bailey, Reach Dane's executive director. The organization had to tap into its bank line of credit after payments failed to come through in the last week. The funds are needed to make payroll for Reach Dane's staff of 250, including child care teachers, people in food service and bus drivers who pick up and drop off children in the program. 'We're kind of flying blind in a chaos storm, trying to figure out what is happening and why,' said Bailey, who is also president of the Wisconsin Head Start Association board. Federal payments to Head Start programs are reimbursements for expenses providers have already incurred. Providers are accustomed to logging into a federal portal, submitting the expense information and receiving a reimbursement in about 24 hours. Reach Dane typically submits its requests for payment once a week or so, Bailey said. A week ago Monday, Reach Dane was unable to log in to the portal at all, however. Late Tuesday, Jan. 28, the portal was once again accessible, and Reach Dane submitted a payment request. A second payment request was submitted on Friday, Jan. 31. 'We have not received either of those,' Bailey said Tuesday. 'As of right now both still show as pending in the system.' In addition to serving Head Start children through its own child care centers, Reach Dane also works with private child care providers who enroll children from low-income families. One private partner is The Playing Field, a nonprofit that operates two child care centers in Madison, one of them on the city's West Side where the enrollment includes Head Start children. Reach Dane pays The Playing Field monthly to cover its Head Start kids. Participating in Head Start is part of The Playing Field's mission, said Abbi Kruse, who founded The Playing Field a decade ago with the goal of creating 'an early childhood education program that any family would choose for their child.' From the start the organization's model was to enroll children 'from really different socio-economic and racial backgrounds,' she said, overcoming segregation in all its forms. At the West Side location, enrollment is about one-third children on scholarship, one-third children whose parents can afford the full cost, and one-third who are covered under Head Start or Early Head Start. 'Without that funding, they could not attend our program,' Kruse said. 'Without that funding, we definitely could not sustain our model.' Providers, families spread the word in the Capitol for Evers' child care investment Kruse said that Reach Dane sends a Head Start payment once a month to The Playing Field, which received the February payment on Monday. But if Reach Dane can't resume receiving its federal funds, 'obviously that's not sustainable for them to continue doing that,' she said. Some of the children served by her organization are from families living in shelters, sleeping in cars or hotels for the unhoused, for example, Kruse said. They may rely on The Playing Field not just for child care but for meals and other support, such as parenting classes. 'There's a lot of support for families in our model, and to rip that away from people is just cruel,' Kruse said. Mauer said that providers unable to collect the federal funds they're due are scrambling to meet the shortfall. The federal government requires that recipients must disburse the money they get within three days after collecting it. 'They're not sitting on a set of federal reserves to pay people,' Mauer said. 'This is money for service already rendered.' Providers who are on the hook for funds 'are doing everything they can to keep their doors open,' she said. 'They're talking to creditors, they've opened up lines of credit, they're talking to community partners and moving things around.' If Head Start providers don't survive, the impact on employers could be severe. 'The majority of folks that come to Head Start are working families,' Mauer said. Without child care, 'that would mean those parents would have to make tough choices. It's a terrible situation.' 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Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Total chaos': Head Start programs in Wisconsin left scrambling after federal grant freeze
Waukesha resident LiKayla Smith regularly juggles working toward her nursing degree with caring for her 4-year-old daughter. That challenge became even more difficult after the child care program she relies on announced it would be closed indefinitely. Smith's daughter attends Head Start programming at Child & Family Centers of Excellence in Waukesha, which closed after confusion caused by the federal freeze on grants and loans ordered by President Donald Trump Tuesday. Without Head Start, Smith said she'll have no choice but to drop out and go back to work to afford daycare, which can cost hundreds of dollars per week. She's one of hundreds of families who weren't able to access child care Wednesday after her child's Head Start program in Waukesha closed due to the freeze. The program is among many across Wisconsin and the U.S. scrambling to figure out how to access funding amid website glitches that have affected Headstart programs across the country. Head Start provides free childcare to low-income families for children up to 5 years old. According to the federal program's most recent report, over 700,000 people nationwide used Head Start's services in 2023. The White House clarified on Tuesday that the freeze wouldn't affect Head Start programs and rescinded the order Wednesday. But in an email to families Wednesday, Child & Family Centers of Excellence CEO Tim Nolan told enrollees that the center is still unable to access payments due to the website glitches. The online payment system says the funds remain delayed due to executive orders, Nolan said in the email, which was viewed by the Journal Sentinel. Nolan said the center is monitoring to "determine when money is actually transferred to our bank," the email said. "The moment this happens, we will be able to reopen," he wrote. Nolan did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Wisconsin Head Start Association Executive Director Jennie Mauer said some Head Start programs can remain open while others cannot because there are many different ways the programs operate. For example, some programs' core function is Head Start, while some operate as part of larger organizations. Either way, Mauer said the federal freeze and payment issues have sent communities into a tailspin. "This pause has really just further destabilized an already fragile (child care) industry, and it's just really been chaotic," said Mauer. Mauer said Head Start program facilitators across the state don't have much more information than the families they serve. Typically, if a system is down or experiencing delays, Mauer expects communication. "But this has been total chaos," she said. Nearby Waukesha child care center La Casa de Esperanza, which also offers Head Start programs, doesn't plan to halt any of its operations. "All information we have received indicates that any pause will not affect Early Head Start or Head Start Programs, so we will remain open and continue to provide uninterrupted services," said La Casa de Esperanza President and CEO Shari Campbell. If programs are still left waiting for answers on when they'll receive payments by Friday, Mauer predicts there may be more program closures beyond Waukesha and Washington Counties. "What I know for sure is that programs are working their darndest just to figure out how to stay open," Mauer said. "But they're really scrambling right now." Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be emailed at QClark@ Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Head Start programs scrambling after federal grant freeze
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Business
- USA Today
'Total chaos': Head Start programs in Wisconsin left scrambling after federal grant freeze
Waukesha resident LiKayla Smith regularly juggles working toward her nursing degree with caring for her 4-year-old daughter. That challenge became even more difficult after the child care program she relies on announced it would be closed indefinitely. Smith's daughter attends Head Start programming at Child & Family Centers of Excellence in Waukesha, which closed after confusion caused by the federal freezeon grants and loans ordered by President Donald Trump Tuesday. Without Head Start, Smith said she'll have no choice but to drop out and go back to work to afford daycare, which can cost hundreds of dollars per week. She's one of hundreds of families who weren't able to access child care Wednesday after her child's Head Start program in Waukesha closed due to the freeze. The program is among many across Wisconsin and the U.S. scrambling to figure out how to access funding amid website glitches that have affected Headstart programs across the country. Head Start provides free childcare to low-income families for children up to 5 years old. According to the federal program's most recent report, over 700,000 people nationwide used Head Start's services in 2023. The White House clarified on Tuesday that the freeze wouldn't affect Head Start programs and rescinded the order Wednesday. But in an email to families Wednesday, Child & Family Centers of Excellence CEO Tim Nolan told enrollees that the center is still unable to access payments due to the website glitches. The online payment system says the funds remain delayed due to executive orders, Nolan said in the email, which was viewed by the Journal Sentinel. Nolan said the center is monitoring to "determine when money is actually transferred to our bank," the email said. "The moment this happens, we will be able to reopen," he wrote. Nolan did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Wisconsin Head Start Association Executive Director Jennie Mauer said some Head Start programs can remain open while others cannot because there are many different ways the programs operate. For example, some programs' core function is Head Start, while some operate as part of larger organizations. Either way, Mauer said the federal freeze and payment issues have sent communities into a tailspin. "This pause has really just further destabilized an already fragile (child care) industry, and it's just really been chaotic," said Mauer. Mauer said Head Start program facilitators across the state don't have much more information than the families they serve. Typically, if a system is down or experiencing delays, Mauer expects communication. "But this has been total chaos," she said. Nearby Waukesha child care center La Casa de Esperanza, which also offers Head Start programs, doesn't plan to halt any of its operations. "All information we have received indicates that any pause will not affect Early Head Start or Head Start Programs, so we will remain open and continue to provide uninterrupted services," said La Casa de Esperanza President and CEO Shari Campbell. If programs are still left waiting for answers on when they'll receive payments by Friday, Mauer predicts there may be more program closures beyond Waukesha and Washington Counties. "What I know for sure is that programs are working their darndest just to figure out how to stay open," Mauer said. "But they're really scrambling right now." Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be emailed at QClark@ Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark.
