CT early childhood programs are at risk without federal funding

Head Start programs that serve hundreds of children in the Naugatuck Valley are at risk of closing if they don’t receive federal funding in the next few weeks.

Team Inc., the nonprofit organization that runs the programs across 12 cities and towns from Waterbury to Milford, gets its funding from the Head Start office under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

They apply yearly for a grant, and this year’s application for $9 million was submitted on Feb. 1.

“On Feb. 1, we had to submit our comprehensive application of the types of childcare services we would be providing. It takes 90 days to go through the programmatic application as well as the financial budget proposal. So, we’ve been going through this process since Feb. 1 with the Office of Head Start based in Boston, which serves Connecticut and basically New England,” President and CEO of Team Inc. David Morgan said.

Last week, Morgan got an email that sent shock waves through his organization.

“I got an email through one of those existing federal workers working with our grants that said, we just learned today’s our last day and we hope somebody will be there to finish this out with you, perhaps maybe in Washington. Best of luck,” Morgan said. “Of course that has created such a fog of uncertainty and levels of panic because if we don’t get the funding, we can’t keep the doors open for hundreds of working families and hundreds of young children.”

The grant money is used for childcare for more than 500 children from infants to five-year-olds across more than 30 centers.

It helps pay for staff, keep buildings operational and more.

“Head Start is the national exemplar of the nation's commitment to childcare for almost 60 years now. Supporting working families, training and education, jobs programs,” Morgan said. “There’s just so much at stake here for these families, these children and these jobs in our workforce.”

The uncertainty has left staff anxious about the future.

“There’s a lot of tensions, not just from parents, but from the staff as well. I have teachers coming to me and saying I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have student loans to pay, I’m really overwhelmed right now,” Ruth Chantre, psych director for Team Inc., said. “Those families depend on us, depend on the childcare that we provide for them. Head Start has been around for 60 years and it’s a very unique program. We’re not here just to provide the childcare but also to provide family support."

“Just the thought that all of this can go away, it’s really concerning. It’s an overwhelming feeling that keeps me up at night for sure,” she continued.

Wendy Bryan, a mother of five, said her life has been changed by Waterbury’s Head Start program.

“[The program] helped me get my first job…then I got my driver's license, and I went to Naugatuck Valley and got my associates for ECE. Now I’m getting my bachelor’s for elementary and then I wanna go for my master’s for special education. Without me having childcare, I wouldn’t be able to do that,” Bryan said. “What I want them to do is come walk through here and see what we’re doing for these kids.”

Morgan said he’s hopeful that the money will come through for them. He’s now communicating with the Head Start office in Washington D.C. But every day until May 1 will be anxiety-ridden.

“Boy, does it cause a lot of stress and uncertainty,” he said. “This is unprecedented. This has been a very surreal, stressful experience. How do you navigate such a fog of uncertainty, knowing or not knowing will you get over the finish line? We’re literally about 20 days away whether or not our doors going to be open for the workforce, working families, families from all walks of life and well over 100 childcare workers and staff here at Team Inc. that are part of the blueprint of our community.”

In a statement, Senator Richard Blumenthal said, “Trump’s cuts to childcare funding and programs have serious and significant consequences for Connecticut children, caregivers and families. Without strong support for child care, kids don’t have a healthy and safe place to learn and more parents are forced to opt out of the workforce. I urge the President to rethink these short sighted cuts and put families first — Connecticut child care providers and families can’t afford any more uncertainty.”