As Executive Director of the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation, I am deeply concerned by the decision of the federal government shutdown to force the temporary closure of Head Start programs across our state, effective Saturday, November 1. Because of this decision, 258 North Carolina Head Start staff will instantly be furloughed, including 55 people in the corporate office in Raleigh.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that, due to the shutdown, no new SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits will be issued on November 1. Nationally, this impacts more than 42 million people — more than half of whom are children. In North Carolina alone, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports that over 1.4 million residents rely on SNAP, including more than 580,000 children.
There are no winners in a government shutdown, but children and families can become the losers. The continuity of care provided by Head Start is essential — not only to children’s healthy development but also to the thousands of parents who depend on Head Start while they work. Many Head Start programs, due to the structure of federal grants, are already operating without new funds. On November 1, the number of programs facing a funding cliff will increase twenty-fold, putting nearly 65,000 children and their families across the country at risk of losing access.
At NCECF, we work every day with organizations like Head Start and other champions of early childhood development to promote understanding, spearhead collaboration, and advance policies that ensure each child in our state is on track for lifelong success — ideally reading on grade level by the end of third grade. We cannot allow this shutdown to reverse the progress we have made or undermine the foundation that young children need.
I urge Congress and the President to act immediately to:
- Approve a full FY 2026 budget or a short-term continuing resolution.
- Protect Head Start.
- Restore SNAP benefits on schedule.
- Safeguard the health, education and well-being of the children and families of North Carolina.
Respectfully,
Theresa Stacker
Executive Director
North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation