In this period of government and fiscal uncertainty, directors of Oklahoma Tribal Head Start programs were in Washington, D.C. last week to advocate on the Hill for continued funding. Among those in attendance were Jayme Trevino, Director of the Kickapoo Tribe’s Head Start program in McLoud, and Monica Fisher, Director of the Delaware Tribe of Indians’ Lenape Early Learning Center Head Start in Bartlesville. Both programs serve 60 children (and their families). In total, Tribal Head Start programs serve close to 3,000 children in Oklahoma. Only Arizona has a higher number of children enrolled in Tribal Head Starts.
Fisher: “What’s great about the Early Head Start and Head Start programs is we create partnerships with our families in our communities, and so we take a whole child and whole family approach to serving the family and ensuring that we’re setting families up for success from the very beginning.”
Trevino: “We are, I like to say, the baseline, the foundation. Our teachers are specialized in the areas that they teach — they come in with bachelor degrees. We want to be recognized as a professional institute. And the dollars really help…they are very much worth the investment.”
For FY 2026, the White House budget request maintains funding for Head Start at its FY 2025 level of $12.272 billion. The House and Senate appropriations bills also propose funding at or close to this amount:
- White House Request: Proposes to keep Head Start funding at the same level as FY 2025.
- House Proposal: Also includes level funding for Head Start at $12.272 billion.
- Senate Proposal: Includes an increase of $85 million, bringing the proposed total to $12.36 billion.
The HHS Budget proposal says this about the Head Start program:
“The Head Start Program provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies. The grants will provide early learning and…
