MADISON, Wis. – Yesterday, Senator Tammy Baldwin, State Representative Lisa Subeck, and advocates for Wisconsin children and families joined a virtual press call marking the 60th anniversary of Head Start and recognizing the impact the program has had on generations of Wisconsin kids.
Senator Baldwin and participants on the call shared the profound impact that Head Start has had on Wisconsin kids and families, and the opportunity it has created in communities across the state. In recent months, Head Start has been targeted by the Trump administration—in addition to Republican cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and countless successful programs that support working families. Just this week, House Republicans have been advancing a plan that would rip health care and food stamps from thousands of Wisconsinites just to give more tax handouts to corporations and the wealthy.
In Wisconsin alone, Head Start programs have struggled to keep their doors open thanks to federal support being cut in half. The Trump Administration has also proposed eliminating Head Start entirely, has mass-fired Head Start staff, and gutted the offices that help ensure high-quality child care is available for thousands of children and families across the country.
Click here to watch and download the press call
Senator Tammy Baldwin: “For 15,000 families in Wisconsin, Head Start has been a lifeline allowing them to access childcare so that they can go to work or go to school. However, that lifeline is in jeopardy. Just one week into President Trump’s administration, Head Start programs in Wisconsin were thrown into chaos. Suddenly, they couldn’t access grant funding that they were guaranteed, and that forced one Head Start in Waukesha, Wisconsin to temporarily close, leaving 250 families and 350 children without any care. And I think it’s worth dwelling on that very quick moment, 250 families were left out to dry without any child care because of this administration’s cruelty and incompetence.”
State Representative Lisa Subek: “We have a system now that is teetering on the edge on child care. Families can’t get the childcare they need, and if they can get it, they can’t afford it. Head Start is filling a critical piece of that equation, and if funding for Head Start goes away, those are kids and families in our communities who are going to lose their childcare, and those are employers who will lose their employees. So we have to turn this path around. I know that Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden, two of our congressmen, have been beating the drums about cutting back programs like SNAP that provide healthy food for families in need. Programs like Head Start that serve our most vulnerable families have been successfully doing that for 60 years now.”
Meghan Roh, Program Director, Opportunity Wisconsin: “Congress is debating disastrous cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs that help working families and seniors here in Wisconsin succeed just to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. Congressmen Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden have backed a Republican budget blueprint which will force trillions in cuts to programs. If they’re successful, they’ll cut these programs, add more bureaucratic red tape to make them harder to access, and Wisconsinites will pay the price. Just this week the House Agriculture Committee, which Congressman Van Orden is a member of, advanced a reconciliation bill that includes cuts to SNAP, a program that helps so many families and children in our state put food on the table. These massive cuts serve the same purpose as undermining the Head Start program: to take food, health care, education, and other vital resources from working people just to give more tax handouts to the rich.
Sondra Goldschein, Executive Director, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy: “When the Trump administration froze Head Start funding earlier this year, as Senator Baldwin said it forced programs to suspend services for working families here in Wisconsin and across the country, and Senator Baldwin was at the front demanding that the administration restore funding. When they imposed a mass firing of Head Start employees who are responsible, among many things, for ensuring that Head Start programs operate safely, Senator Baldwin called for the immediate reinstatement of all Head Start staff. She has a long commitment of advocating for this program, including in 2023 when she was instrumental in passing a bill that provided a $1 billion increase for child care and early learning programs, which included Head Start. We are very lucky and appreciative of her leadership in the Senate right now, which is so critical, as Republicans and President Trump have made it their mission to dismantle Head Start.”
Jennie Mauer, Executive Director, Wisconsin Head Start Association: “If this program was eliminated, we’d be really undercutting our economy. And we know that families, they’re getting those wraparound supports that get families connected to things like Medicaid. Over 80% of our Head Start families are accessing health care through Medicaid, and it would really be disastrous if these cuts went through. So not only are families getting connected to those needed supports and services, but while their families are working, Head Start families and Head Start kids are getting ready for school. They’re getting the support and encouragement they need to be successful today and to be successful for the future.”
Brenda Mateo, Head Start Advocate and Former Head Start Parent: “I then enrolled my daughter in 2022 in the Head Start 3K program. I was a single mom, and I was raising her, and I didn’t have the extra support. Head Start provided her a safe, nurturing environment and allowed her to excel and thrive, and she truly was like the other parent with me. I would not be where I am without that.”
