New York City will lose more than $70 million in federal funding for its Head Start program, a crucial lifeline for thousands of disadvantaged families and their young children, the city’s Education Department told preschool providers on Wednesday.
Head Start is a well-known force in child care and early education, serving about 800,000 children nationwide from low-income families. The six-decade-old initiative, which has a roughly $12 billion budget, provides grants to school districts, nonprofit organizations and other local groups.
In New York City, several thousand children are enrolled in free Head Start programs overseen by the city’s Education Department, including those who are homeless and receive food stamps.
The loss of the federal money was not expected to cause an immediate disruption to services, city officials said, but because the grant would have extended for five years, the implications for later years remained unclear. Some local organizations receive Head Start grants directly from the federal government and are awaiting the results of their applications.
On Wednesday, officials in the city’s Education Department told preschool leaders in an email obtained by The New York Times that its Head Start application was unsuccessful.
City officials said in the email that the change would not immediately result in havoc for families and children. Head Start programs will not be required to close, and the city has committed significant local funding to ensure services continue for this school year, according to the message. The email promised that families would “continue to have access to high-quality early childhood education.”
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The post New York Loses Federal Grant for Head Start Program for Poor Families appeared first on New York Times.
