The online system that distributes federal money to Head Start programs is warning providers of upcoming delays, apparently because of the Trump administration’s sweeping review of federal spending.
A message about the possible delays appeared this morning, as Head Start providers were logging on to file for their next distributions. HuffPost obtained a screenshot from an official at an early childhood advocacy organization; an official at a second advocacy group then confirmed hearing it about it from providers.
The message says that “Due to Executive Orders regarding potentially unallowable grant payments, PMS [the payment system] is taking additional measures to process payments. Reviews of applicable programs and payments will result in delays and/or rejections of payments.”
It’s not clear whether the message appeared for all providers nationwide, or just some.
Head Start is a federally funded program that provides preschool for low-income children along with some support services for their families. It served 778,000 children in 2023.
The reference to “potentially unallowable grant payments” suggests the delays are part of a broader pause in federal payments that the Trump administration has been imposing through executive orders, across the entire federal government, in order to realign federal programs with President Donald Trump’s agenda.
These orders may not be legal, given the president’s obligation to spend money as allocated by congressional action. But they are causing confusion ― and in some cases panic ― among the groups and agencies that receive this money.
Many Head Start agencies run on tight budgets. Advocates worry that even small delays in payments would make it difficult for them to cover payroll, rent and other expenses.
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“Delay of payment = pain for people,” Melissa Boteach, vice president for income security and child care/early learning at the National Women’s Law Center, told HuffPost over email. “People who are homeless. People who are struggling to put food on the table. People awaiting cancer treatment.”
Boteach added that “This is not a technocratic ‘pause.’ This is playing roulette with people’s lives and livelihoods.”
HHS has not responded to a HuffPost inquiry about the message or its meaning.