Project 2025 would eliminate Head Start, one of the top resources low-income families have to give their children a better start in life, stabilizing their access to education, food, and healthcare so that they have the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty.
For over 50 years, Head Start has been a powerful tool in helping disadvantaged children rise out of poverty and has gained broad bipartisan support. Since its establishment in 1965, it has served nearly 40 million children with success. Statistics show that Head Start participants are 12% less likely to live in poverty as adults and 29% less likely to depend on public assistance. Furthermore, early childhood education reduces the likelihood of criminal behavior later in life.
More than 833,000 children living in poverty across the U.S. would lose access to Head Start if Project 2025 is allowed to move forward. The long-term consequences would devastate families and economies nationwide.
Consequences of Eliminating Head Start
While the loss of Head Start would undoubtedly reduce available child care slots and increase costs, the impact on rural families would be especially severe. In ten surveyed states, rural Head Start programs comprised 22 percent of the overall child care supply. Without Head Start, child care deserts—regions with little to no access to affordable child care—would expand, devastating future outcomes for children in rural communities.
Head Start supports many underserved communities, including Latino communities, Tribal communities, agricultural workers, foster children, and those experiencing homelessness. The program also allocates 10 percent of its slots for children with disabilities. Eliminating Head Start would disproportionately impact these vulnerable groups, stripping away crucial support where it is most needed.
Affordable child care is also an economic imperative. In 2023, the national average cost of child care was $11,582, an amount that many low-income families struggle to afford. Without programs like Head Start, this financial strain can prevent parents from working or force them into unreliable child care arrangements.
Currently, the lack of affordable child care costs the U.S. economy $122 billion annually in lost earnings, productivity, and tax revenue—a figure that could rise dramatically with the elimination of Head Start.