For more than 60 years, Head Start has represented one of America’s most important promises: that every child deserves a strong start in life.
Over the past several months, I have visited Head Start centers across the country. In classrooms from rural communities to major cities, I have experienced the same inspiring environment again and again: deeply committed teachers, engaged students, and loving parents who want the very best for their children.
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But alongside this extraordinary dedication, we have also heard a clear and urgent message from providers, educators, and families alike: The current system is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
Head Start was designed as a direct partnership between the federal government and local communities. Unlike many other education and childcare programs, Head Start bypasses state governments and sends funding directly to local grantees. That structure remains one of the program’s greatest possible strengths because it allows communities to tailor services to the needs of their families.
Unfortunately, over time, Washington has increasingly layered mandates that fail to account for the realities facing more than 1,600 local grantees operating in vastly different communities across America. The result is a system that has become overly rigid, excessively costly, and harder to expand at a time when families need more options, not fewer.
Today, Head Start is the most heavily regulated early childhood care and education program in the country. At the same time, costs continue to rise dramatically. Federal data show median annual spending per slot now exceeds $20,000 in Early Head Start and more than $14,000 in Head Start Preschool, with some locations spending far more. The same report showed these costs far exceeded the national average price of childcare.
Meanwhile, despite headlines of a nationwide childcare shortage, many communities are seeing Head Start slots decline or remain unfilled, even as federal spending increases. In fact, from 2021 to 2024, the program experienced the largest reduction in funded Head Start slots in American history, even as the budget grew.
The trendline is not sustainable for families, providers, or taxpayers. Under President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, the Administration for Children and Families believes there is a path forward to make Head Start better and more effective for the children and families it serves.
It starts with humility. Washington cannot reasonably dictate every operational decision for thousands of diverse local programs. Parents, teachers, community leaders, and local providers are often far better positioned to understand what works for their communities than distant federal regulators. That is why ACF recently proposed rescinding a costly Biden-era mandate on wages and benefits that threatened to force providers to cut over 100,000 slots nationwide. We are also preparing additional reforms designed to restore flexibility, reduce administrative burdens, and ensure more dollars reach children and families directly instead of being consumed by bureaucracy.
Importantly, these reforms strengthen Head Start’s core mission.
We remain fully committed to preserving the federal-to-local grant structure that makes Head Start unique and ensuring resources are targeted toward children and families with the greatest needs. We aspire to enhance comprehensive family-oriented services that support not only early learning, but also health, nutrition, and family stability.
What will change is our approach to governance.
We want to empower local communities instead of micromanaging them. We want parents to have a stronger voice in shaping programs locally. We want providers to spend more time serving children and less time navigating paperwork.
Taken together, ACF’s reforms have the potential to preserve or expand as many as 236,000 Head Start slots nationwide. This would be one of the most significant expansions of opportunity in the program’s history.
That matters because every additional slot represents a child who can enter kindergarten more prepared, a parent who can return to work with peace of mind, and a family with a stronger foundation for the future.
Americans do not want a Head Start system controlled entirely from Washington. They want one that is accessible, responsive, accountable, and grounded in the needs of real families. That is exactly what we are working to build.
HEAD START HAS AN INFLATION PROBLEM. WILL CONGRESS DELIVER THE SOLUTION?
The teachers and staff I have met across the country deserve enormous credit for the work they do every day. Our responsibility at ACF is to ensure that federal policy supports their mission rather than standing in the way of it.
By trusting parents, empowering local communities, and focusing resources where they matter most — on children and families — we can ensure Head Start remains a source of hope and opportunity for generations to come.
Alex Adams is assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services.
