Washington, D.C. — A new analysis from the Center for American Progress describes the grim toll the extremist Project 2025 policy agenda would take on families’ access to child care across the United States.
If implemented, Project 2025 plans to completely eliminate Head Start, a federally funded child care program that has served nearly 40 million children and provides vital support to American families experiencing poverty. Nixing Head Start would create painful and, in some cases, unbearable increases in the cost of child care for countless Americans. Worse still, the repercussions would be disproportionately felt by some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations, including Latino and rural communities.
CAP’s analysis includes these key findings about Project 2025’s projected impact:
- More than 833,000 children and families enrolled in Head Start would lose access to child care.
- Low-income families dependent on the free services offered by Head Start wouldn’t be able to afford child care without the program. The average cost of child care is nearly $12,000, representing 38.6 percent of income for families at the poverty level.
- The number of Americans living in child care deserts would spike, particularly in rural areas.
- Tribal communities, children in foster care, and people experiencing homelessness would be disproportionately harmed.
- Ripple effects from the erasure of Head Start would be felt across the entire U.S. economy.
“Project 2025’s plan to eliminate Head Start pulls the rug out from under families living in poverty and would have a devastating impact on children’s development, parents’ ability to seek employment, and our economy,” said Casey Peeks, senior director for Early Childhood Policy at CAP and author of the column. “A majority of Americans already live in child care deserts, but this plan would increase costs for families, set our country’s early learning system back decades, and fall hardest on the backs of rural communities and Latino Americans.”
Read the column: “Project 2025 Would Eliminate Head Start, Severely Restricting Access to Child Care in Rural America” by Casey Peeks
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Mishka Espey at [email protected].