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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration budget cut flip-flops leave southwest Georgia Head Start programs uncertain
DAWSON – LaTosha Peters kept a journal to track her son Damien's development as a child diagnosed with autism. Getting his diagnosis at just 1 1/2 years old, Damien struggled socially and verbally. Peters said her child navigated echolalia in his early years, involuntarily repeating words or phrases he'd heard from others. At 3 years old, Damien was accepted into the Terrell County Head Start Center. And there, Peters said, he began to blossom. 'Through Head Start, he learned how to talk, he began reading … getting along with other children,' she said. Peters noticed new developments and big changes every day, jotting them in her 'Damien Journal.' Teachers made students write their name every day – even if they couldn't write, they still had to try. As Damien's signature went from lines, to shapes to letters, his physical, verbal and emotional ability transformed as well. This development is part of the core mission of Head Start, a federal program that provides free early learning, health and family support services to low-income families from pre-birth all the way to age 5. The program served 833,000 low-income students in the U.S. in 2022, including nearly 19,000 students in Georgia. In rural, poverty-stricken areas like Terrell County, it's one of the few, if not only, early education and child care options for families. In mid-April, the program faced a potential funding crisis and complete elimination outlined in an internal draft budget from the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services. 'When I heard things were up in the air … and they were going to do away with Head Start, I was like, 'Oh, my God. They don't understand the impact this is going to have on families, especially those in high poverty,'' Peters said. 'I'm hoping this is a program that's gonna be around for a long time because it's really needed.' Several centers across the country were forced to close while awaiting funding. However, in early May, the administration released an updated 'skinny budget.' Head Start avoided the chopping block, but advocates remain nervous. In southwest Georgia, Head Start's parent organization, the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, which serves low-income Georgians from housing assistance to health care, may see other cuts. 'The value of the program is undervalued and undermined,' Yolanda Daniels, the southwest Georgia Head Start program director said. 'Any threat to that is a threat to our communities as a whole.' Supporting the whole child and family A Terrell County Head Start classroom is alive with color and hands-on learning stations. A tiny play kitchen sits in one corner, and in another is an open space for dancing and exercising. The sounds of nursery rhymes, music and 'oohs' and 'ahhs' as children sound out letters can be heard behind every classroom door. Anita Ware, the Terrell County Child Development Center's supervisor, said each day is meticulously planned out from 8:30 a.m. until about 3 p.m for its 74 students. Head Start classrooms are packed full of stimulating activities for students. Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan'There's no idle time,' she said. 'It guides teachers and students through a day of stimulation and fulfillment.' Classrooms are spaces for exploration as children fine tune their motor skills by stacking blocks, embrace their creativity in the 'art area' and learn responsibility by taking on classroom roles, like 'the nutritionist' who hands out meals or 'the librarian' who organizes the reading area. Daniels said more than just child care and education, Head Start supports the 'whole child and family.' Students receive health screenings and get scheduled for doctor's appointments at no charge to the families. Terrell County's Head Start programming offers monthly workshops for parents, where they learn about child nutrition or parenting skills. Parents are connected to different resources throughout the community, whether it's the health department or housing authority. Ware said these are services that low-income families would otherwise not have access to. 'A lot of our families do take pride in having all of their children go through the program or having multiple family members, but our goal is to break that cycle of poverty so future generations will not need our Head Start program,' Daniels Start has trickle-down effects Ultimately, Head Start prepares underserved students to transition to public school. Peters said without the early intervention and learning for her son with autism, his future may have looked very different. Instead, he made it to high school – graduating with honors. Now, he's a college student at Georgia Southwestern State University. He has plans to graduate with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. As the principal at Cooper Carver Elementary School, Peters said she notices a difference in those students who went through Head Start – whether it's better test scores or skill sets as simple as patience while waiting in the lunch or bathroom line. 2025 Head Start growth reports released by the Community Action Council show significant gains in social/emotional, literacy and mathematics from fall 2024 until now among students in the program. Randy Weldon, the SWGACAC CEO, said these gains show how necessary Head Start is. Daniels said no Head Start would have a trickle-down effect on communities: a student body population less prepared for elementary school, parents unable to get to work, the inability for children with disabilities to get much-needed services. 'In smaller, more rural counties, if Head Start services were not there, there are very few, and in some cases, no other child care available in those counties,' Weldon said. 'If you've got … a single parent who is trying to work and maintain a job and maintain income for a household, if we're not there, I hate to think about the choices they would have to make.'Community Action Council grapples with potential cuts While most of the fears surrounding Head Start funding have dissipated, Weldon said there's a general nervousness among SWGA Community Action Council staff as other funding streams remain up in the air. 'You may not necessarily know our agencies and services, but if they were gone, you'd feel it,' Weldon said. The Community Action Council, which has supported southwest Georgia for 60 years, is entirely supported by federal funds. It serves roughly 21 counties with a goal of helping people living in poverty to climb out. It's reliant on the Community Services Block Grant, which was zeroed out in Trump's proposed 'skinny budget.' No longer having these funds would mean a significant cut to council staffing and closure of local 'neighborhood service centers' where communities can access services. It would eradicate the council's ability to provide emergency housing, utility or health assistance. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program also seemingly was at risk of cuts, but Community Action Council staff were informed Thursday that additional funds were made available. The Community Action Council is already struggling as it loses COVID-19 recovery funding but still faces a pandemic-era need for its services. 'Since the pandemic, we've had people coming to us who've never had to come to us before,' Weldon said. 'We've gone back to pre-pandemic funding … so it's a little more difficult because folks are still … facing lingering effects.' The council also employs 550 people and budgets about $40 million to support its southwest Georgia clients. 'You take those jobs away … you take that funding out of the community, that's a big impact here,' Weldon said. Anita Ware sits at her supervisor desk; classroom schedules and parent information binders fill the space around her. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganWeldon said he understands the need for cutting costs at the federal level, but he doesn't want necessary areas or services to get caught up in the mix. Ware said the Terrell County Child Development Center is carrying on, giving 100% to the children and families until it's no longer able to. 'We're small, but we have a real impact,' she said. 'Watching a child graduate from high school, knowing they were once here, and now they're a valedictorian or an honors student, it's a great feeling. It makes you proud.'
Entrepreneur
09-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Footprints Preschool & Daycare Raises USD 7.5 Mn Series A from Tanglin
The funds will fuel the launch of new centres, enhance smart surveillance systems, scale AI-driven learning platforms, and improve digital engagement with parents. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Early childhood education and daycare brand Footprints Preschool & Daycare has raised USD 7.5 million in Series A funding from Tanglin Venture Partners. The funds will fuel the launch of new centres, enhance smart surveillance systems, scale AI-driven learning platforms, and improve digital engagement with parents. The company said this capital infusion will support its mission to empower more families with high-quality, innovation-led early education. "Our focus has always been on creating safe, nurturing, and stimulating environments where every child's potential is recognized and developed," said Raj Singhal, Co-founder and CEO of Footprints. "With the support of Tanglin Venture Partners, we are now positioned to deepen our impact and bring our model to even more families across the country." Founded after 2009 by Purvesh Sharma, Raj Singhal, and Ashish Aggarwal, Footprints offers preschool programs and full-day daycare services, integrating personalised care with technology to deliver a holistic early learning experience. Currently operating over 175 centres across 25+ Indian cities, the company has carved a niche for itself with its tech-enabled, child-first approach. Footprints emphasises transparent communication with parents, smart classrooms, and a secure environment supported by real-time surveillance. "Footprints stands out for its child-first philosophy, high standards of transparency, and scalable, tech-enabled operations," said Sankalp Gupta, Partner at Tanglin Venture Partners. "Their innovative hybrid model makes them uniquely positioned to lead the evolution of early childhood education in India." With this round, Footprints is set to scale its reach and continue redefining early education in the country.
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Head Start avoids Trump's cuts, but advocates are ready to defend it: ‘There's too much good in this'
T anya Stanton felt a sense of relief when she heard last week that the Trump administration seems to have reversed course on eliminating the Head Start early education program. She directs early learning programs at You Thrive, a Florida nonprofit that provides Head Start services to approximately 1,100 children in the central part of the state. On Friday, the Trump administration released an updated 'skinny budget,' which lays out the executive office's discretionary spending priorities. It doesn't contain a proposal to shut down Head Start, as mentioned in an administration memo obtained by the Associated Press in April. And that means thousands of families can breathe easier; the program served 833,000 low-income students nationwide in fiscal year 2022. Relief, however, does not mean that Stanton wants to lessen the pace of the advocacy that followed the announcement. 'If anything, this has taught us that you can't sit idle,' she said. Too much is at stake. Florida currently has over 45,000 children enrolled in 860 Head Start sites, the third highest number of students in the country behind California and Texas. In 2024, it received over $544m in federal funds. The budget may no longer target Head Start funding, but the administration closed half of the program's 10 regional offices and federal funding freezes have affected its programs, and it does propose eliminating other programs that Head Start families rely upon, including preschool development grants and community block grants. 'Until Congress passes and the president signs a final funding bill, we urge all Head Start supporters to continue advocating for the preservation of this vital program,' said Wanda Minick, Florida Head Start Association's executive director. Grismairi Amparo works with her students at a Head Start program on 29 January 2025, in Miami. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP For You Thrive's Stanton, it has been a surprise to realize how little many Americans understand the full impact and scope of the program. Head Start has served 39 million children and families since its inception in 1965, according to government statistics. At its most basic level, Head Start provides free childcare in a nation where households can pay more on average for childcare than on their housing. Access to childcare has a major economic impact on families and communities, since a US Chamber of Commerce study finds that states can lose up to $1bn a year when parents and guardians can't find or afford childcare. That is not even counting the hundreds of thousands of Head Start employees, whose possible job losses would also have ripple effects on their households and communities. Head Start is actually multiple programs that do much more than education and childcare. Early Head Start is for infants to three-year-olds, and its staff work on parenting skills with families one-on-one. Children also receive medical care such as dental, vision and mental health screenings. Head Start serves kids from ages three to five, and there's also a Migrant Head Start for children of agricultural workers. Building stronger families Doing away with Head Start would have immediate effects for affected families and their greater communities, but could also have longterm – even generational – consequences, said child and family policy expert Elliot Haspel, author of Crawling Behind: America's Child Care Crisis and How to Fix It. He noted a 2022 study showing that the children of Head Start participants were more likely to graduate high school and enter college; less likely to be teen parents and enter the criminal justice system; and had higher self-esteem – all of which translated to a 6% to 11% increase in wages. In her book A Chance for Change: Head Start and Mississippi's Black Freedom Struggle, Emory University historian Crystal R Sanders examined the impact Head Start had on economic opportunity in civil rights-era Mississippi. Through the Child Development Grant of Mississippi (CDGM), which ran from 1965-68, 'federal money was going directly into the hands of working-class black people, something that had never happened in the state of Mississippi', Sanders said. CDGM parents had the opportunity to work and go back to school. Many earned a GED or high-school equivalency, and some pursued college degrees, which resulted in better-paying jobs and even home ownership. 'Head Start gave them a leg up, too,' Sanders said. 'That's still true today.' For Lee Ann Vega, education manager at You Thrive, threats to Head Start are not just devastating – they're personal. 'It makes me sad for not only my families, but it makes me so sad for the children,' she said. Vega, 51, has Head Start to thank not only for a job but also for setting her on the right path in life. She and her brother were enrolled in Head Start after her mother abandoned the family due to substance abuse, and her father was working three jobs. The support she received inspires her passion for helping other children. 'There's so many days that I wake up and I thank God for allowing me to be a part of this process. Because Head Start works,' she said. Stanton of You Thrive said: 'We are here to help the families achieve self-sufficiency.' To achieve this, staff work one-on-one with families to establish personalized goals. For some families, it means locating temporary or permanent housing. For some, it means entering higher education or learning new technical skills. A student plays during aftercare at the end of the school day on 29 Jan. 2025, in Miami. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP 'Some of them may not even know how to navigate on a laptop or computer,' Stanton said. Sometimes this leads to a job at Head Start itself, where former parents make up more than 20% of the program's workforce. And while childcare as a whole pays low wages, Stanton noted that Head Start's regulations, in a change made under the Biden administration, require that teachers earn as much as local public preschool or kindergarten teachers. 'Head Start is an economic boon for communities, whether it's the jobs it creates at those centers or the jobs that allow Head Start parents to work,' said Sanders, the Emory historian. The Trump administration budget proposal from April stated that eliminating Head Start aligned with its 'goals of returning control of education to the states and increasing parental control'. That argument, Sanders said, 'would suggest that they are actually not familiar with Head Start because Head Start prioritizes parental involvement'. Head Start standards require each agency to include parents on policy councils that decide or approve everything from enrollment and curriculum criteria to staffing. Tocra Waters is co-president of the policy council at Verner Early Learning Center in Asheville, North Carolina, where her three-year-old son Sincere has been enrolled in the county's only Early Head Start program since the summer of 2023. The program provided crucial support at an unsettled time in her life. Waters and her two children had transitioned to a new home after spending time in a shelter, where Waters had gone after leaving an abusive partner. Sincere was 'closed off' around people he didn't know, she said. In home-based visits, Waters learned how to set boundaries and rules for Sincere, while he learned colors and improved his motor skills. Now in a classroom at Verner, Sincere has made friends and interacts more with others in all settings. 'He'll say, 'Hi, morning, have a nice day,' and it just melts my heart,' Waters, 32, said. Waters has seen her own confidence increase through her participation in the policy council. She values 'that opportunity to be able to bring suggestions to the table … being an African American or a Black woman, in spaces, it seemed like we were not heard at times,' she said. She trusts Verner to care for her son and said its services 'allowed me to be able to provide for my kids and still chase my dreams'. A future without funding? Verner, a nonprofit center, received $3.2m, or 60% of its $5.3 operating budget this year from Head Start funding to support 139 children. Although the administration's plans to eliminate Head Start funding gave CEO Marcia Whitney 'heart palpitations', she noted that 'we as an organization would not cease to exist' if funding disappeared. However, they would start charging tuition for many of its programs, a move that would price out most of their Early Head Start families and force some to leave their jobs to stay at home with their children. The situation is far more critical for centers like those run by You Thrive Florida, where 98% of their funding comes from Head Start; the rest comes from the United Way and the state. While the Trump administration said eliminating Head Start would allow state and local governments to have control over education, Haspel said 'states are absolutely not prepared to make that kind of shift'. He pointed out that states struggled to distribute pandemic stabilization grants to childcare programs because they lacked the staff and technological infrastructure to transfer funds as quickly and easily as the federal government. According to Minick, Florida would need to invest $688m to replace Head Start services. Florida already has its own version of Early Head Start, the School Readiness program. But it has stricter eligibility requirements; parents must work up to 20 hours a week and contribute co-pays. Minick estimates that those rules mean that only 13,000 of the more than 40,000 students in Head Start could now enroll (the state's voluntary pre-kindergarten program currently has no waiting list). And Florida's legislature is considering slashing its funding for state-run early learning programs by up to 8%. Students help put away supplies at the end of a reading and writing lesson at the Head Start program in Miami. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP Children play at the Head Start program in Miami, Florida, in January 2025. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP For Sanders, the question is less whether the state governments can administer these programs but whether they are willing to do so, especially in states with a history of educational and racial segregation. 'Historically, when we have left complete control of education to states, that has created inequality,' she said. When the CDGM received federal funding as one of the nation's first Head Start programs, she noted, 'the segregationist governor of Mississippi could not take away money from working-class Black people'. Even with an annual budget of $12bn, Head Start at best serves half of eligible children. 'I don't envision Americans truly saving any money by doing away with Head Start,' because it is so underfunded, Sanders said. Because the program has enjoyed bipartisan support since its inception, Haspel 'would be somewhat surprised' if Congress agreed to the administration's initial request to eliminate it completely. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the government on 28 April on behalf of a coalition of Head Start providers and parents, alleging that the executive branch does not have the power to impact Head Start's funding without congressional approval. Stanton, for one, is hopeful. Longtime Head Start staff across the nation – people who have worked for the program for 30 or 40 years – told her that they've experienced tough moments like this before, though perhaps not at this magnitude 'I'm just a believer. I'm like, there's too much good in this,' she said.
