How government shutdown could affect child care in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Thousands of children in Ohio could soon lose access to early education and childcare as the federal shutdown drags on. 

"Every day the shutdown continues, it's Ohio families and children who are paying the price," Ohio Head Start Association Executive Director Julie Stone said. "And Head Start is not a political issue. It's a lifeline for the families we serve."

Seven Ohio Head Start Programs will run out of funds on Saturday, forcing potential closures and furloughs across the state. 

"Our folks are very creative at making things work, but can't operate a program without money to operate it," Stone said. "And that money needs to be allocated as part of either an appropriations bill or a continuing resolution that will get the funding flowing again."

Head Start is a federally funded school readiness program that provides early learning, nutrition and family support services to low-income families in Ohio with children from prenatal to age five.

"We will have no money after the 31st, and that's scary," Coshocton County Head Start Executive Director Susan Craddock said. 

At Coshocton County Head Start, the doors are still open, but the clock is ticking. A recent donation from the community will keep it open until Nov. 14, but it's only a temporary fix. 

"We cannot run our program on just donations," Craddock said. "It costs about $50,000 a week to keep ourselves open, and that's just paying staff."

The Coshocton County Head Start program currently has about 60 staff members and serves 140 children. According to leaders there, they were already operating in crisis mode due to inflation, and now the shutdown is pushing the program to a possible breaking point. 

"Some of our children, this is the food that they get for the day," Craddock said. "We feed breakfast, lunch and a snack before they go home."

Across Ohio, six other Head Start programs, which along with Coshocton County, collectively serve more than 3,700 children, are facing the same dilemma. Leaders say that for many families, there are no other affordable childcare options to consider.

"Disruption to services means kids are missing out on vital learning," Stone said. "It means that parents who rely on Head Start for childcare to be able to go to work would have to make decisions about whether they go to work or care for their child."

No new federal funding could also put more than 900 Head Start staff members across the state out of jobs. 

"They've been showing up every day with dedication and professionalism even though they don't know what is in store," Coshocton County Early Head Start Education and Disability Manager Jamie Adkins-Darr said. "They don't know if their next paycheck is secure."

According to Head Start leaders, children can't pause their development for a political gridlock, so they need Congress to act now. 

"Children aren't pawns in the game that the government's playing right now," Craddock said. "Children are our future, and we're kind of playing with their lives right now."

Informal talks are still happening behind the scenes on Capitol Hill as lawmakers search for a way to end the government shutdown, but so far, there have been no formal negotiations between Republicans and Democrats.