Head Start

Head Start is funded primarily through federal appropriations and therefore has limited financial resilience to political or budgetary funding disruptions.

Head Start operates nationwide through approximately 1,600 grant recipients.

In 2025, some Head Start early-learning programs served more than 65,000 children nationwide.

As of October 29, 2025, the federal Head Start program nationally serves roughly 750,000 infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children and provides childcare, early learning, free meals, health screenings, and family support.

Local Head Start programs receive federal funding on an annual basis but on differing schedules across programs, with some programs receiving disbursements on October 1 and others on November 1 of the federal fiscal year.

During a federal government shutdown, federal funding disbursements to individual Head Start programs are suspended and cannot be disbursed until the shutdown ends.

Head Start is a federally funded program in the United States that provides education and child care services to low-income preschool-aged children.

Head Start is a federal program that provides early childhood education and related services to low-income children and families.

Federal government shutdowns can put funding for programs that serve needy families, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Head Start preschool programs, at risk of being cut off.

The Head Start program provides early childhood education and childcare funding targeted to low-income families with young children.

Head Start programs in the United States rely on federal grant funding and require congressional appropriations to renew those grants; if federal appropriations lapse, Head Start programs can be unable to operate until grant renewals are processed and federal staff are recalled to work.

Legislation can be enacted to provide retroactive funding authority so that federally funded programs, such as Head Start, are authorized to continue operating during periods when Congress has not passed new appropriations bills.

Local community action agencies, private donations, and support from local schools and churches are commonly used as temporary funding sources to sustain Head Start and similar early-childhood programs during interruptions in federal funding.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans every five years.

The Head Start program provides education, child care, and nutrition services to enrolled children.

The Head Start program serves nearly 65,000 children in 41 U.S. states.

Head Start is a federally funded, free early childhood development program in the United States that serves low-income families.

Head Start programs commonly provide a range of services for participating low-income children and families, including early education, developmental screenings, health and dental services, and nutrition assistance.