Providers and families fear the effects of federal Head Start funding cuts
Southwest Virginia is recognized as a child care desert. In Giles County — which has over 800 children under the age of 5, according to the US Census Bureau — there are only three licensed child care providers. One of those providers is the Giles Health & Family Center in Pearisburg, which hosts a Head Start center.
Head Start is the longest-running national school readiness program in the country. Providers and parents and guardians alike say that Head Start, which serves about 14,000 children ages birth to 5 in Virginia, is a crucial support system that must be protected.
That’s why there’s been a great deal of fear about potential federal funding cuts, after an internal document leaked earlier this year proposed eliminating the program entirely. (President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for next year ultimately left the program intact, but Congress has not yet signed off on funding for the next federal fiscal year.)…