LISTEN: The funding cuts would have a major impact on rural communities, leaders say. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports.

Sen. Warnock speaking at the National Head Start Association Conference.

Warnock spoke at the National Head Start Association Conference in 2023 about a bill to expand services. Now NHSA is asking people to call lawmakers to protect their programs.

Credit: Susannah Agi

Early childhood development program Head Start is the latest group facing possible federal budget cuts. The loss of revenue is likely to affect rural Georgia the most.

An early budget proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services reported by The Associated Press revealed a total defunding of  Head Start. The organization, created in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson, provides support to over 20,000 families in Georgia.

Georgia Head Start executive director Juanita Yancy said Head Start is the only child care option in some rural areas.

“So these parents are working parents and If they don't have some sort of child care, like Head Start, how do they work?" Yancy said. "How do they keep their jobs? So then this impacts their employers.”

The National Head Start Association released a statement calling the budget proposal “deeply alarming.” Executive director Yasmina Vinci said it’s a disinvestment in the future.

“Hundreds of thousands of parents wouldn’t be able to work, forcing them to choose between their livelihoods and a safe, reliable place for their children to grow and start on the pathway to success,” Vinci said in the statement. “We urge every parent, every American, and every believer in the American Dream to contact their elected officials to express their outrage about such a proposal.”

Georgia has 379 locations across the state receiving a combined $289 million in funding from Head Start.

Tags: childcare  Georgia  Federal funding  Early Childhood Education