Head Start and Social Safety Net Programs
Last updated: 09/16/2026

Click here to be directed to TFC's Federal CCDF webpage for other federal child care updates

Click here for TFC's Head Start NPRM Comment Guide and Template

• Submit formal comments via the Federal Register before the October 6, 2026 at 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time

Head Start Actions & Resources

Join the Head Start Communications Network

Action Items

• NEW: Parent Action Toolkit
• • Parent Sign -On Letter for Public Comment
  • Parent Letter Template and Background Sheet
  • Parent Story Example
• Click to comment portal: Oppose Proposed Changes to Head Start (NWLC)
• MomsRising’s Protect Head Start Call-In Line Social Media Toolkit - Google Docs 
• Protecting Head Start's Future | Linktree (Start Early)
• A Simple Guide to Submitting a Public Comment (Start Early)
• Post on social media using the hashtags #HeadStartWorks, #ProtectHeadStart, and #HeadStartMatters
• Tag your members of Congress and Head Start CA

Resources, Reports, and Factsheets:

• Understanding the NPRM
• Head Start NPRM key takeaways - Google Docs (Start Early)
• What Programs Need to Know - Early Childhood Chats with NWLC
• Audio: https://childhoodchats.transistor.fm/
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/JCkAsSwCldY
• Impacts to Children & Families 
  • Head Start Changed My Life. The Proposed Reforms Would Gut the Program - NAFCC
  • An English-Only Mandate for Head Start Will Harm Children - NIEER
  • EducationCounsel - DEEP DIVE: Unpacking the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Overhaul the Head Start Program Performance Standards 
  • Proposed Head Start Rule Eliminates Critical Protections for Children Experiencing Homelessness 
  • Lowering the Bar: An Analysis of How Replacing Head Start Standards with State Child Care Licensing Weakens Early Learning Across the United States | The Children's Equity Project 
  • The race to the bottom: What replacing Head Start ratios standards with state child care minimums will mean for children in poverty | National Institute for Early Education Research 
• Children's Equity Project - Head Start’s Footprint: A Focus on Rural Communities, Children with Disabilities and Vital Health Services (05/2025)
• Senator Limón Co-Leads Bipartisan Coalition to Urge Congress to Protect Head Start Program
• Head Start California Factsheet
• Head Start State Factsheets
• First Five Years Fund - Protect Head Start Toolkit
• Fight 4 Head Start Toolkit, Surveys, and Office Hours
• CLASP Blog - Federal Cuts to Child Care and Head Start are an Attack on Families with Low Incomes

Social Safety Net Programs

Immediate Action Items

• Organizational Sign-On: Urge Congress to Cosponsor Upcoming Bill Repealing Recent SNAP Cuts
• Sen. Lujan (D-NM) and Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representative Hayes (D-CT) and House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Craig (D-MN) will introduce “The Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025,” in the Senate and House. This sign-on letter urges Members of Congress to cosponsor the bill.
• FFYF 5 Actions to Take
• Sign-on Letter to Save SNAP & Federal Anti-Poverty Programs to Rep. Valadao
• The Children's Partnership Medi-Cal/Medicaid Action Center
• Tell your story of how social services programs have impacted you
• From CCRC: Help us gather stories about the positive impact in your family or program from receiving services through Covered California or MediCal (Medicaid), SNAP, Head Start and Subsidized child care. CCRC is collecting stories and working to create videos to share the positive impact these public investments have on the lives of California Families. You can either be a current program participant or an alumnus of the services. You can find the submission form at this link: https://ccrc.to/headstartworks

Resources, Reports, and Factsheets:

• Senate Committee Approves FY 2026 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Bill 07/30/2025
• CCDBG - $8.83 billion, an $85 million increase from FY 2025
• Head Start - $12.36 billion, an $85 million increase from FY 2025
• Preschool Development Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) - $315 million, level with FY 2025
• Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) - $75 million, level with FY 2025
• CalBudget Center: State Leaders Must Respond Boldly to the Devastating Cuts in President Trump’s Budget Bill July 2025
• NWLC Action Fund Applauds Bipartisan Proposal to Protect Child Care Funding and Public Education in FY26 Budget 07/30/2025
• Child Care Aware of America: Economics & Child Care: Where Are We Now and Where Do We Go? July 2025
• FFYF TOPLINES: Child Care in the 2025 Tax Reconciliation Package 07/10/2025
• #Health4All - Frequently Asked Questions: Medicaid Information Sharing With Immigration Enforcement | Spanish Version 07/10/2025
• CalBudget Center: Spreadsheet of analysis and resources. Updated in real time
• CalBudget Center: Federal Budget Cuts: Understanding Threats, Protecting Californians Report 05/2025
• CalBudget Center: Federal Budget Cuts: Understanding Threats, Protecting Californians Slides 05/12
• Medicaid Defense Social Media Toolkit
• Families USA Defending Medicaid Resources Page
• Medi-Cal: The Foundation of California Kids’ Health & a Bedrock of Our State Economy (includes enrollment by county data)
• Medicaid is Vital  to California Factsheet
• More Than Half of California’s Children from Birth to Five Rely on Medi-Cal - Shows # of children on Medi-Cal in each county
• Threatened Changes to Medicaid and IDEA Could Impact Developmental Supports for Young Children in California
• Letter to Republican Leadership Against Medicaid Cuts from Rep Congressional Delegates 04/14/2025
• How Republican-Led Budget Cuts Could Impact Californians in Every Congressional District - Cal Budget Center 04/2025 
• Two California Families, Two Futures: The Real Cost of Federal Budget Cuts - Cal Budget Center 04/2025 
• Massachusetts Congressional Delegation Letter Against SNAP Cuts from the State Chamber of Commerce 04/01/2025
• CA Senate Joint Resolution against cuts to SNAP SJR 3 (Arreguin, Pierson) 03/27/2025 
• Paperwork Over People: Why Republican “Work Requirements” Fail Families 03/2025
• National letter against social safety net program cuts to U.S. Congress leadership 02/25/2025

Archived Updates:

• Temporary Restraining Order
• FY26 NHSA State Association Letter to House Appropriations Leadership
• Nonprofit groups suing Trump administration over funding for Head Start programs - KOMO News
• Federal judge hears arguments in ACLU lawsuit against HHS about Head Start - Northwest Public Broadcasting
• Washington State Association of Head Start and Early Childhood Assistance and Education Program et al., Robert F. Kennedy et al. | American Civil Liberties Union
• What Will Medicaid Cuts Mean For School Health and Wellness Services? - EdSurge 08/07/2025
• Senate committee rejects K-12 grant consolidations in FY 26 bill - K-12 Dive 07/31/2025
• Recommends fully funding the Department of Education at $79 billion in FY 26
• From Head Start to Adult Ed, Trump Narrows Pathways for Undocumented Students - The 74 07/28/2025
• Trump Admin Pauses Ban on Undocumented Kids in Headstart in These States - Education Week 07/28/2025
• Education Department Lifts Freeze on Remaining Federal Funds - The 74 07/25/2025
• Lawsuit challenges restrictions on Head Start for kids in the US illegally - AP News 07/21/2025
• Release of 21st CCLC funding imminent 07/18/2025
• 1.4M of the nation’s poorest renters risk losing their homes with Trump’s proposed HUD time limi - AP News  07/17/2025
• Policy at a crossroads: What we know about work requirements and time limits in federal housing assistance - Local Housing Solutions 07/17/2025
• Not Just a Budget Cut: How 17 Million Lives Are Being Harmed by “One Big Beautiful Bill” Families USA 07/17/2025
• Raising a Family Is Increasingly Expensive. The Child Care for Working Families Act Would Help - The Century Foundation 07/15/2025
• Banning undocumented students from Head Start is illegal, ACLU argues in lawsuit - LAist 07/15/2025
• California, 23 states sue Trump over $6 billion in education funds 07/14/2025
• Head Start will be cut off for immigrants without legal status, Trump administration says - AP News 07/10/2025
• How the "Big Beautiful Bill" could impact California kids - EdSource 07/10/2025
• Trump Relaunches TANF Pilot - The Imprint 07/07/2025
• Trump is withholding $800 million from California schools. How kids will be affected - CalMatters 07/01/2025 
• Senate GOP unveils long-awaited SNAP proposals for Trump bill - The Hill 06/11/2025
• Here's what's in the GOP megabill that's just passed the House - NPR 05/22/2025
• Actress Jennifer Garner lobbies Congress to save Head Start program  05/05/2025
• Associated Press: Head Start survives Trump administration budget proposal. 05/02/2025
• President Trump - Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request
• ACLU Sues to Halt Trump Administration Attacks on Head Start Child Care Program - LA Times 04/29/2025
• Complaint Head Start Associations, Parent groups v HHS - ACLU 04/28/2025
• Parent Advocacy Groups and a Coalition of Head Start Providers File Lawsuit to Stop Trump Administration’s Dismantling of Head Start - ACLU 04/28/2025
• With Head Start in jeopardy, Trump administration threatens child care for 800,000 kids - LA Times 04/23/2025
• The Trump administration is remaking HHS. Track the changes here.- BioPharmDrive 04/22/2025
• Scoop: Leaked PDF outlines major HHS restructuring proposal (authenticity now confirmed). "The safety nets are being blown up right and left." - Inside Medicine 04/16/2025 
• Head Start funding lags by nearly $1 billion this year, causing some preschool closures - Associated Press 04/15/2025
• Padilla Cosponsors Legislation to Improve Access to Quality, Affordable Child Care for American Families - Public.04/04/2025
• Head Start Regional Office Closures: A Call for Action to Safeguard Head Start - HeadStart CA 04/04/2025
• Padilla, Luján, Warnock Lead Group Demanding Reversal of Mass Firings of Head Start, ­Office of Child Care Employees - Office of Senator Alex Padilla 04/02/2025
• NHSA Expresses Deep Concern Over Administration Shuttering Regional Offices - National Association of HeadStart 04/01/2025
• HHS Announcement of Restructuring and 10,000 Laid Off - HHS.Gov 04/01/2025
• Head Start child-care centers face pay delays after Trump’s federal funding freeze LA Times 02/07/2025
• Trump White House rescinds order freezing federal grants after widespread confusion - LA Times 01/29/2025