Kansas City-area Head Start sites will stay open without federal funds — for now
Kansas City-area residents who were bracing to lose access to federally funded child care can breathe a bit easier — at least for now.
Amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, the metro’s 17 sites for the national Head Start early child care program are set to lose their funding as of Nov. 1. The Mid-America Regional Council, which administers the program regionally, announced this week that all 17 sites will stay open on the various organizations’ own dime — at least for as long as they can.
Head Start, a federally-funded program established in 1965, provides services to children from households with qualifying incomes, those with disabilities, foster children and others. The 17 sites MARC administers in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties serve a total of 2,300 children and their families.
Kasey Lawson, MARC’s Head Start director, said this week that while MARC is “elated” every site is participating, she’s not sure how long each Head Start program will realistically survive without federal funds.
The region’s Head Start sites incur costs on their own but are reimbursed on a monthly basis through federal grants. Staying open on their own will mean continuing to rack up operating costs without the promise of being paid back by the federal government through MARC.
“We may be facing the possibility of closing facilities in the very near future,” Lawson said.
About 400 staff positions across the KC-area Head Start sites are also at risk if the sites close permanently, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said earlier this month.
Six of the 17 Head Start sites operate out of Independence schools, while four are hosted in Kansas City Public Schools. Earlier this month, KCPS was one of the first Head Start host sites to announce an intent to stay open on an emergency basis after Nov. 1.
The district will use reserve funds to keep operating its four Head Start sites at least through winter break, KCPS public relations coordinator Shain Bergan previously told The Star.
Lawson said that the Federal Office of Head Start has expressed the intent to expedite funding to Head Start programs once the federal shutdown ends.
