Tarrant County Head Start families displaced from services after delay in grant notice
CORRECTION: No employees of Child Care Associates were laid off as a result of a delay in notification about a federal grant. An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information.
Eligible families receiving free child care are experiencing displacement from services in Tarrant County this summer due to procedural delays in grant funding for the federal Head Start program, according to a local provider.
Tarrant County’s largest Head Start provider, Child Care Associates, announced in early May that “the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services experienced an administrative delay in confirming the specific timing of Head Start grant funding.”
The early childhood development nonprofit was notified that incoming grants would be awarded this summer, but the exact date was unknown, CEO and President Kara Waddell said in a statement in May. As a result, early educators were notified they would be laid off on June 30 when the previous grant expired, and families were forced to find other child care options starting on June 4.
Though programming was suspended, the layoffs did not occur because Child Care Associates announced on June 30 that its grant has been awarded. Child care services for infants and toddlers will resume on July 28, and preschoolers will return for classes on Aug. 11, according to the nonprofit.
The program serves newborns to 5-year-olds and also provides services to parents themselves. Head Start providers, such as community organizations and school districts, run local programs through five-year grants.
“We are empathetic to the challenges this creates for our families. However, we will invest the time to reset this summer and will aim to be back fully engaged for families who choose CCA’s education and care option,” Waddell said in May.
The gap in services comes about five months after several federal agencies and offices, including the Office of Head Start, underwent staffing cuts at the direction of President Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency. At the time, national child care experts predicted that one of the impacts of these firings would be slower disbursement of grant awards.
But officials from the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, which the Office of Head Start operates under, said in a statement that they were unaware of any breaks in Head Start services for Tarrant County families.
“Child Care Associates has received their Head Start grant award. The Administration for Children and Families is not aware of any break in services for Tarrant County, as there has not been an interruption in funding,” officials said.
Federal officials did not respond on Thursday when asked if they disputed any details in Child Care Associates’ May announcement about the delay in confirmation of when the Head Start grant funding would be awarded. A spokesperson for Child Care Associates said the nonprofit had “provided the facts in all communication with the media” and had “no further information to provide” when asked about the Administration for Children and Families’ lack of awareness on a pause in services.
It’s unclear how many Head Start families in Tarrant County have been impacted.
Almost 900 children and pregnant women will receive Head Start and Early Head Start services through the grant announced on June 30, Waddell said.
“This national investment enables CCA to continue our community commitment to providing high-quality early education and comprehensive Head Start and Early Head Start services to approximately 899 Tarrant County pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers along with their families,” Waddell said. “We at CCA look forward to welcoming both returning and new families for Head Start, child care and PreK.”
Waddell noted that about 82% of 3- and 4-year-olds who attend a Child Care Associates program meet Texas kindergarten readiness standards while all students show “accelerated progress in language, literacy, and math, along with strong growth across all key areas of development.”
Offices of Head Start, Child Care see layoffs, consolidations
As a result of federal staffing cuts that began in early 2025, 20% of staff at the Office of Head Start and 25% of staff at the Office of Child Care were laid off, downsizing the number of workers responsible for providing guidance and resources to their local child care communities.
A May 1 webinar update from the Office Head Start shared details of its restructuring and consolidations, as its number of regional offices had been cut in half from 10 to five. The Office of Head Start’s southwest location, based in Dallas, is now responsible for operations in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. When comparing the new map with the previous map, which is still listed on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, the number of states served by this regional office doubled.
“These closures along with other personnel changes that we have experienced at the Office of Head Start have affected us all deeply,” said Tala Hooban, acting director of the Office of Head Start. “I just want to acknowledge our colleagues that we miss very deeply. We will never be able to replace them.”
Katie Hamm, the former deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development at the Administration for Children and Families, said the loss of program specialists who had localized knowledge tailored to their communities has contributed to delays and lack of communication from the Office of Head Start to providers.
“A program specialist used to have about 20 programs that they worked with… they were in regular communication with the program leadership. They knew what was going on with them, what the challenges were, what the needs might be,” Hamm said. “If there was something going on with that program, they were able to get on the phone with them and talk them through it. And what I’m seeing now is that that capacity just doesn’t exist anymore.”
Hamm oversaw federal funding streams for early childhood programs such as Head Start as a political appointee of former President Joe Biden. She left the agency before the federal staffing cuts went into effect but continues to provide guidance to Head Start providers as an advocate and expert.
Head Start providers can be on different timelines for their funding cycles, but July is a common month for providers to receive a new round of funding. In late June, Hamm said there were other local programs that had yet to receive notice of their July 1 grant award.
“Some are worried because in the absence of any communication, they have to give notice to their employees that there’s the potential for mass layoffs, and that is because of labor laws. But when they had a program specialist, they had someone who could reassure them, ‘Your grant is coming. It’s in the final stages,’ and they didn’t have to worry about it,” Hamm said.
The Center for Transforming Lives — a Tarrant County nonprofit focused on disrupting the cycle of poverty for women and children through housing, counseling, early childhood education and economic mobility services — is another local Head Start and Early Head Start provider that serves about 450 children and families in the programs.
CEO Carol Klocek said the nonprofit hasn’t experienced the obstacles that Child Care Associates has. As far as supporting families who were displaced, Klocek said she wished Center for Transforming Lives could provide services but that its slots are already full. Recently, there were about 350 children and families on the waitlist, she said.
“It’s been really devastating to see this gap caused by the administrative delay,” Klocek said. “It’s having real-life impacts on families and children. It’s having a domino impact on those families’ ability to work and stay engaged in their education programs.”
Casey Peeks, senior director of early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress, underscored how parents base their lives around their child care arrangements and how a gap in services can impede their work situation.
“If you’re a parent who has gotten these notices, how do you message that to your employer? How do you know when you might have to skip work because what you thought was a very consistent child care arrangement is falling through — to no fault of their own, to no fault to your Head Start program, because all of these things are happening at the federal level,” Peeks said.
Moving forward, Peeks said, situations like this will have to be navigated on a day-by-day basis against a backdrop of uncertainty.
“It doesn’t have to be like this. A year ago, parents didn’t have to think about whether they’ll lose access to Head Start because there were systems and an Office of Head Start workforce in place to keep the program running in a way that supports families and educators. But I think that the actions that we’ve seen from this administration has caused a lot of panic and chaos for both Head Start workers and families alike,” she said.
This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 4:37 PM.
