Head Start programs in Washington are still largely in a holding pattern after the federal government agreed not to enforce its plan to bar undocumented immigrants until early September.
That agreement, filed Friday, is part of a court case that Washington, 19 other states and the District of Columbia have brought against multiple agencies’ new interpretation of a federal law.
The new directive would apply not just to Head Start but to a wide slate of public programs, such as family planning clinics and mental health and substance use services.
The enforcement freeze amounts to a brief reprieve amid a general atmosphere of uncertainty for the 60-year-old early learning program, which has run up against funding freezes and reductions in the federal workforce overseeing it since the start of the second Trump administration.
In practice, though, the pause on enforcement doesn’t change much for Washington Head Start programs, said Joel Ryan, executive director of Washington’s Head Start association.
“It doesn’t change the fact that it’s unlawful, what they’re doing,” Ryan said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the umbrella agency overseeing Head Start, announced the new interpretation of federal law earlier this month. It said then that the change in policy would “restore compliance with federal law and ensure that taxpayer-funded program benefits intended for the American people are not diverted to subsidize illegal aliens.”
The announcement also said a preliminary analysis found American citizens could receive up to $374 million in additional Head Start services yearly.
The new interpretation prompted a legal challenge from blue states, including Washington. That case was filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island.
But a stipulation document, filed Friday in the lawsuit, says the government has agreed not to enforce the new interpretation in those states through Sept. 3, and won’t enforce the interpretation related to conduct that happens, or money that’s spent, before Sept. 4.
Some Head Start providers in Washington are continuing to do business as usual, while others have paused outreach to families until they get clear guidance, Ryan said. As of last week, at least one program had paused enrollment for a couple of weeks until things settle, he said.
Head Start providers receive grant funds from the federal government to operate the early learning programs, primarily aimed at low-income families. The program serves about 15,000 Washington children annually with education and other support.
HHS said in its July 10 announcement that it would provide additional guidance to Head Start grant recipients, but Ryan said providers haven’t gotten that guidance.
Separately, Head Start advocates in several states, including the state Head Start association that Ryan leads, have sued the federal government over the administration’s actions surrounding Head Start, such as funding delays.
They moved to amend their April lawsuit to challenge the new immigration policy. Oral arguments in that case are slated for next week in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
In a court declaration in the association’s lawsuit, Ryan said he expected Head Start enrollment in Washington could drop by 15% to 25% under the government’s new interpretation, which he described as a conservative estimate.
His declaration also says that more than 74% of children served by Head Start in the state are children of color, and nearly 42% speak a primary language other than English at home.
“This invasive questioning carries a heightened level of fear at this time due to the federal administration’s actions against immigrants,” Ryan’s declaration states, adding that it would “sever the trust” that Head Start agencies have built with immigrant communities and “the community at large.”
Ryan and other advocates worry that the change will generate a chilling effect on the broader community — that even if a child is eligible for services, their family will fear retaliation or being targeted for seeking or getting those services.
“The sad part is, a lot of these kids will miss out on high-quality early learning before they're going to school,” Ryan said, adding that the government’s efforts to bar undocumented immigrants could be detrimental to the economy by taking child care from working parents.
Head Start programs have built trust by hiring a diverse workforce that reflects the communities they serve and by taking other measures, like family engagement activities, that create a welcoming environment, leading to word of mouth about the program among people in the community, Ryan said.
Head Start grantees are required to have at least 97% enrollment, and an enrollment decline could affect funding for programs, according to documents in the states’ lawsuit.
Ryan is also concerned that the rule change could mean families would be fearful of enrolling in the state preschool program, called the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, or ECEAP, since Head Start and ECEAP are very similar in design, and providers can receive funding from both programs.
Tana Senn, the leader of the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families, said July 14 in a public letter that regardless of their immigration status, families still have access to ECEAP and a state-subsidized child care program called Working Connections.
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