Officials, Operators In Vital Preschool Program Worry About Their Future Under Trump

The online system that distributes federal money to Head Start programs warned providers of upcoming delays Tuesday morning, apparently because of the Trump administration’s sweeping review of federal spending.

It was the start of a chaotic day, during which the payment systems from the Department of Health and Human Services went offline altogether. HHS operates Head Start, as well as big government health programs including Medicare and Medicaid.

By late afternoon, Trump administration officials were vowing to restore service. They also said that Head Start would not be subject to their freeze on government payments after all.

Head Start is a federally funded program that provides preschool for low-income children along with some support services for their families. It served 778,000 children in 2023.

The message about the possible delays appeared on the HHS website early Tuesday, as Head Start providers were logging on to get their next financial distributions. HuffPost obtained a screenshot from an official at an early childhood advocacy organization; an official at a second advocacy group then confirmed hearing it about it from providers.

The message said that “due to Executive Orders regarding potentially unallowable grant payments, PMS [the payment system] is taking additional measures to process payments. Reviews of applicable programs and payments will result in delays and/or rejections of payments.”

It’s not clear whether the message appeared for all providers nationwide, or just some.

The reference to “potentially unallowable grant payments” led Head Start advocates and program directors to think the delays were part of a broader pause in federal payments that the Trump administration has been imposing through executive orders, in order to realign federal programs with President Donald Trump’s agenda.

These orders may not be legal, given the president’s obligation to spend money as allocated by congressional action. And their meanings have not always been clear.

But they caused have plenty of confusion ― and in some cases panic ― among the groups and agencies that receive this money.

And that is what happened on Tuesday.

Many Head Start agencies run on tight budgets. Advocates worry that even small delays in payments would make it difficult for them to cover payroll, rent and other expenses.

“Delay of payment = pain for people,” Melissa Boteach, vice president for income security and child care/early learning at the National Women’s Law Center, told HuffPost in an email. “People who are homeless. People who are struggling to put food on the table. People awaiting cancer treatment.”

Sure enough, by midday, Head Start operators from around the country were telling reporters they were not able to access payments they’d expected to get. Some said they were worried about keeping their doors open if the situation continued.

HHS did not respond to a HuffPost inquiry about the situation. But the Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday issued new guidance, revising its previous order and stating explicitly that Head Start was not subject to the new spending freeze.

This story has been updated to reflect Tuesday afternoon’s developments.