Central WA Head Start programs shut down without federal funding

More than a dozen Head Start classrooms in Central Washington are closing as the national free preschool program comes under fire from the Trump administration.

On Friday, the nonprofit Inspire Development Centers notified staff and families that it would shut down several Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms, leaving about 400 children without educational and support services and 72 workers unemployed. 

The organization said it had yet to receive funds from the federal government that it needed to keep operating.

Head Start serves about 15,000 children in Washington altogether.

The longstanding federal program, established 60 years ago as President Lyndon B. Johnson waged his war on poverty, is facing an uphill battle. The Trump administration has laid off federal workers overseeing the program, including workers in the regional office in Seattle, and is mulling getting rid of it altogether. 

Now, Inspire must close its Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms because it does not have enough money to operate, effective at the close of business Tuesday. 

Head Start providers are contractors who receive money from the federal government to offer programming that includes education and comprehensive family support. Head Start serves children 3 to 5 years old, while Early Head Start serves children under 3.

Inspire is on a five-year grant cycle, and Dec. 1 was the beginning of its fifth year. At that point, the program received half its funds for the year. 

The remainder was expected once Congress passed a continuing resolution or a budget. Congress passed a continuing resolution in March. But that remainder — roughly $4.5 million — hasn’t come through, said Jorge Castillo, CEO of Inspire Development Centers.

“The lack of communication from the Office of Head Start, unfortunately, doesn’t give us a lot of confidence that we’ll see it timely,” Castillo said, “And (we) have to take the action necessary to avoid incurring costs that we can’t guarantee can be covered.”

Julie Jones, Inspire’s human resources director, said they do not have any other funding sources to keep their Head Start programs afloat while they wait for federal funding. 

It’s possible the federal funding could come through, but not guaranteed. Castillo said Inspire would reopen the programs if they got the funding.

Neither Head Start nor Early Head Start charges for services, so some families may need to pay for child care elsewhere.

“We tried holding off as long as we could,” Jones said, hoping they would receive some reassurance on funding to keep the programs running.

Inspire Development Centers will remain open, serving children in other programs, such as Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal Early Head Start programs that serve about 1,900 children of agricultural workers.

While Inspire’s Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program operates on the same grant cycle as Head Start, it doesn’t start until spring, so it still has the funds to operate.

Inspire contacted the office of U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, as the affected classrooms are all in his district. Newhouse’s office wrote back, asking for more details.

“My assumption is, hopefully, they’re trying to get some answers for us,”Castillo said.

Claire Withycombe: 206-464-2578 or cwithycombe@seattletimes.com. Claire Withycombe is a Seattle Times staff reporter covering state government.