Indiana Head Start Association
Media Statement
Contact:
Rhett Cecil, Executive Director
rcecil@indianaheadstart.org
(317) 916-0810
Indianapolis, IN — On Friday, April 11, USA Today reported that President Trump’s upcoming budget will propose the full-scale elimination of the nearly 60-year-old, highly effective Head Start program. Though the budget has not yet been released, the potential proposed elimination of Head Start would be catastrophic for working families, vulnerable young children, Head Start employees, and the Indiana economy. Head Start is Indiana’s 78th largest employer with close to 4,000 employees.
For nearly six decades, Head Start has enjoyed bipartisan support as a cornerstone of early childhood education, providing no-cost, comprehensive services to children from birth to age five. Every president—including President Trump in his first term—has previously supported the program’s mission of lifting up vulnerable children and their families.
This unprecedented move would dismantle one of the nation’s most effective investments in children, families, and communities—and leave more than 12,000 Indiana children without access to essential early childhood education and family support. Across Indiana, there are Head Start centers in over 270 different locations in almost every Indiana county. These Head Start centers employ teachers, cooks, bus drivers, family service workers, and more. Most Head Start families in Indiana include at least one working parent or a parent in job training or school. If President Trump’s budget proposal is realized, between Head Start staff and parents, over 16,000 Hoosiers could possibly be out of work either due to the loss of childcare or the elimination of their employer.
Eliminating Head Start wouldn’t just hurt Hoosier children, it would upend the lives of working families across Indiana and devastate local economies, particularly in Indiana’s rural communities, where childcare options are already scarce, the loss would be especially devastating. This is more than early learning. It’s about access to healthcare, family stability, and long-term success.
Without legislative action, the proposal, as reported by USA Today, remains simply a proposal. For the sake of our children, families, staff, and our economy, we must not let this proposal become a reality.