So far, no Head Start programs in Ohio have been affected by the federal government shutdown. But Barbara Haxton with the Ohio Head Start Association says if there’s no resolution, 11 Head Start facilities across the state will shut down, stranding 2-thousand kids and over a thousand staffers.
"So if those agencies close, families will be lookng for additional care for their children during the day, staff will be laid off - hopefully collecting unemployment for the duration - and programs will be shut down. It's really a bad scene.”
And Haxton says the impact could be felt for months and even years, because kids could lose the progress they’ve made, and those facilities could lose contact with their families if they have to go into other day care arrangements.