Head Start federal office serving Michigan shuts without notice

BY ANDREW ROTH, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—The abrupt closure of a regional office for the federal agency overseeing Head Start child care and early education programs in Michigan could lead to disruptions in service.

The National Head Start Association said the Chicago office overseeing programs in six states, including Michigan, was abruptly shuttered earlier this week as part of Health Secretary Robert Kennedy’s cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Administration for Children and Families, or ACF, the agency that administers the Office of Head Start.

Chicago’s office also oversees programs in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

A statement from the NHSA warned that the closures could cause “disruption to vital services for eligible children and families across the country.”

Aundreana Jones-Poole, a communications manager for the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, or MiLEAP, said the state “is working to understand the impact of this week’s federal actions on Michigan families at this time.”

Four other regional offices were also shuttered Tuesday. Regional offices in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Seattle faced the same fate as the Chicago office, according to the NHSA.

Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, said the closures create “a walk the walk moment for anyone claiming to care about kids and families.”

The NHSA said the regional offices “play a critical role in providing oversight, guidance and direct support to local Head Start programs,” including helping to interpret federal regulations and providing support to Head Start grant recipients.

There are 53 Head Start providers in Michigan. More than 70,000 children in Michigan are served by the federal Head Start and Child Development and Care programs, Jones-Poole said.

“In order to avoid disrupting services for children and families, we urge the administration to reconsider these actions until a plan has been created and shared widely,” the NHSA’s statement reads.

But Cowen, who has written extensively on efforts to undermine public education, said the administration of President Donald Trump “isn’t interested in policy solutions for kids and families that aren’t built on moms staying at home or tax dollars going to private schools.”

“I interpret anything other than strong statements condemning the closing of ACF offices as support for doing it—and by extension support for gutting Head Start, child care and the rest,” Cowen said.

The Head Start program was created 60 years ago to provide early education and other support for children living in low-income households.

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.