Sparta, Tomah Head Start will not be affected by federal government shutdown Nov. 1 deadline

Head Start programs in the Coulee Region, including locations in Sparta and Tomah, will not be affected for now if the federal government shutdown continues by Nov. 1, according to program officials.

Executive Director Robyn Wolfert of Head Start Child and Family Development Centers Inc. for the Coulee Region said the Head Start grant for those locations begins June 1 each year, and funding should continue until that date next year.

“Therefore, we have been told we should continue to receive our funding,” Wolfert said in an email. “We are very grateful for that.”

The Coulee Region also has Head Start sites in Onalaska and La Crosse, which will also not be affected by the Nov. 1 deadline, Wolfert said.

Head Start programs are primarily funded through annual federal grants. The Sparta center has 34 children in the Head Start program and eight in Early Head Start, while the Tomah center has 17 Head Start children. Head Start serves children ages 3 to 5, and Early Head Start serves ages 1 to 3.

Gov. Tony Evers announced in an Oct. 30 press release two Head Start programs in Wisconsin would pause services if the federal government does not approve a new spending bill by Nov. 1. He said the lapse would leave more than 275 children without child care and programming, and 82 staff members without paychecks, across multiple counties including Iowa, Lafayette, Grant, Green and Richland.

The affected classrooms include those operated by the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program and the Sheboygan Human Rights Association, which plan to close Nov. 3 and Nov. 14, respectively, if Congress does not reach an agreement and the shutdown continues.

According to the National Head Start Association, those two programs are among 140 across the nation serving 65,000 children that are awaiting funding due Nov. 1. Evers said that number will grow if the shutdown continues, with three Wisconsin Head Start programs serving more than 1,100 children awaiting Dec. 1 grants, and four more programs serving over 1,250 children awaiting Jan. 1 grants.

According to Evers, Head Start has been an essential resource for families across the United States for decades, offering free learning and developmental services to children and families. The program supports educational and developmental foundations for more than 750,000 children nationwide, helping ensure all families have access to high-quality early childhood education and the tools to pursue economic stability.

The announcement comes almost one month after the federal government shut down Oct. 1 when Congress failed to pass a spending bill, with lawmakers divided over federal spending for Medicaid and health care subsidies. Republicans have called for reducing Affordable Care Act (ACA) spending or repealing certain subsidies, while Democrats are pushing to extend ACA premium tax credits set to expire at the end of the year.