Nov. 9, 2025
By Tim Hundt
The government shutdown has created significant challenges for crucial federal assistance programs, particularly Head Start and WIC, leading to legislative action to mitigate the damage.
The Impact on Head Start Programs
The government shutdown caused a disruption in vital federal funding for Head Start centers around the country. Head Start is a federal early education and family support program that provides services to the nation’s neediest families, including prenatal support, home visits, and preschool. Because the program is almost entirely funded by the federal government, it is especially vulnerable to funding disruptions.
According to reporting from the Associated Press, the shutdown is triggering a wave of closures, leaving working parents scrambling for child care and shutting needy children out of preschool. The Head Start centers affected were those due to receive their federal funding on either October 1 or November 1, but the money has not arrived because of the shutdown. Programs operate on different grant cycles, and for the vast majority of their federal funding, programs cannot carry over money from one year to the next.
Dozens of centers missed grant payments due November 1. All told, programs with capacity for more than 65,000 children and expectant parents could be impacted by the disrupted federal disbursements, as 140 programs serving approximately 65,000 children had grants up for renewal in October and early November that have not yet received fiscal year 2026 funding. The National Head Start Association estimates that closures are affecting 8,000 children and families. As of November 7, 2025, confirmed data showed 20 programs across 17 states and Puerto Rico were fully or partially closed, impacting an estimated 9,009 seats.
The closures mean that Head Start children—who often come from low-income households, are homeless, or are in foster care—are missing out on two meals a day, along with medical screenings, dental care, and therapy sessions vital to their development. The pause in services forces many parents who hold hourly jobs to risk losing work if they do not have child care. Some parents may keep an older sibling home from school to babysit, or others may resort to bringing their young child to the fields where they work. Some Head Start centers that missed grant payments are managing to stay open by relying on fast-dwindling reserves, assistance from local governments, school districts, or philanthropies.
WIC Program Funding Status
Among other programs imperiled by the shutdown was the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which helps over 6 million low-income mothers and their young children. The shutdown occurred just before WIC was due to receive its annual appropriation.
According to reporting from the Associated Press, the Trump administration allocated $300 million to keep WIC running in early October. WIC received an additional $450 million in early November. The $300 million allocated in early October was derived from unspent tariff revenue from the last fiscal year, utilizing a legal provision that permits the USDA to transfer money allocated for other programs to WIC. WIC helps eligible recipients, who are children under 5 and new and expectant mothers, purchase nutritious staples such as certain infant formulas, eggs, milk, and fresh produce.
Legislative Response to Head Start Closures
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led a legislative effort in response to the Head Start closures.
According to Sen. Baldwin’s office, Senator Baldwin led 30 of her colleagues in introducing the Keep Head Start Funded Act of 2025, a bill intended to ensure that Head Start programs continue running and receiving funding even if Congress has not passed a new budget. Head Start is viewed as more than just a safe place for children; it is a lifeline for working parents, and thousands of families are being left in the lurch as facilities shutter. The senator’s office noted that roughly 750,000 children are served by Head Start, and as of November 1, nearly 10% were at risk of losing access to their classrooms. The National Head Start Association (NHSA) supports the bill and implored Congress to pass a Continuing Resolution and resolve the spending bills.
The bill comes amid previous challenges to Head Start funding, including a leaked early budget draft from the Trump administration that zeroed out Head Start funding, though the administration later backtracked. Earlier in the year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Trump Administration and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had illegally impounded Congressionally approved funding for Head Start, which forced at least one program in Wisconsin to close. As the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Senator Baldwin’s bill to fund HHS includes $12.4 billion for Head Start, which represents an $85 million increase.
Wisconsin has a total funded enrollment capacity for 6,682 children in Head Start Preschool programs and 2,629 children in Early Head Start (EHS) programs, excluding American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) programs. Separately, AIAN programs in Wisconsin have a funded enrollment capacity of 681 in Head Start Preschool and 376 in EHS. The closure of 219 seats in the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program represents a direct reduction in these services during the shutdown.
The situation with Head Start funding during the shutdown highlights how dependent these essential community services are on the consistent flow of federal money. When that flow is interrupted, the immediate cessation of services acts like a stop valve on a utility line, quickly cutting off necessary support—meals, care, and education—to the children and families who have the fewest resources to fall back on.
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