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COLUMBUS, Ohio -The fifth week of the federal government shutdown has forced two Ohio Head Start providers to close their doors, affecting 600 children and 150 staff members, with five more programs at risk of closure. The shutdowns affect a wide range of services. “This shutdown is pulling the rug out from under working families,” Julie Stone, executive director of Ohio Head Start Association, said Monday. “Parents are losing child care, teachers are losing paychecks, and children are losing the stable, nurturing environments that help them thrive,” Stone said. “These are real people with real consequences — and Ohio’s youngest citizens deserve better.” Programs in Highland and Scioto counties closed, having exhausted their federal funding. The remaining five providers are operating on donations, community support and organizational reserves, according to the Ohio Head Start Association. Last week, the association said programs with 3,700 students and 940 employees were at risk of closing their doors because the providers have funding cycles that began Saturday, but they had not received any money from Washington. Head Start provides early learning, nutrition, health screenings and family support services to low-income children from birth to age 5. When programs close, families lose access to education, care, meals, health services and stability, Stone said. Most of the Head Start providers scraped together enough money to keep operating for the next several days, Stone said in a statement. Head Start agencies in Coshocton and Allen counties are scheduled to temporarily close in two weeks. Without congressional action to pass a full fiscal year 2026 budget or a short-term continuing resolution, all seven providers face eventual closure, she said.
