If you clicked on this blog post, the chances are it's because you care about kids. MomsRising cares about kids, and our over 1 million members care about kids. You know who abolutely doesn't care about kids? President Donald Trump. In fact, he is actively and purposefully putting them at risk by stealing the things kids NEED in order to fund the insatiable greed of his billionaire buddies.

***TAKE ACTION NOW to demand Congress restore Head Start and child care programs and bring back child care staff!

Last week, the Trump Administration closed at least five Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) regional offices throughout the country, meaning that right now there are no regional staff available to support ACF funded programs, which includes Early Head Start and Head Start programs - ruthlessly ripping away care from the children and families served by these programs. Offices which serve 23 states and territories were closed in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and New York. Staff were immediately placed on leave without access to their files or offices. These workers are also essential for the strong and accountable stewardship of $25 billion dollars. These recent firings and the threat of drastic additional firings of child care staff will harm millions of children, families, and communities across the country. Gutting the offices that administer federal early childhood programs will make child care and early education less safe, less affordable, and less accessible for families and communities across the country—especially those who need it most.

***Congress has the power and authority to help our families, and it’s time they started acting like it. Join us in demanding Congress address these senseless closings at once by reinstating Head Start and rehiring child care staff!

The importance of child care programs like Head Start cannot be overstated. Head Start operates in all 50 states, opening doors for parents to go to work, kids to thrive, and childcare workers to be able to stay in their profession. Too many parents across the country cannot afford child care, with the annual price of center-based child care for an infant exceeding the cost of housing as well as the cost of in‑state tuition at a public four‑year university. Head Start enables parents to work or go to school, underscoring the importance not only for kids, but also for the financial sustainability of families and our economy! Launched in 1965 as a comprehensive child development program, Head Start has proven to be the most important social and educational investment in children, families, and communities the United States has ever undertaken. Over the last 60 years it has provided opportunity through child care to more than 38 million children and their families. These programs also significantly support the development of early childhood mental health (like social-emotional development), language, and cognitive development.

Children who have positive and engaging interactions in their earliest years are more likely to enjoy good physical and mental health over their lifetimes. They are also better able to experience, regulate, and manage their emotions—key skills for later school readiness. Children who attend Early Head Start and transition to Head Start are more ready for kindergarten than children who do not attend Head Start. The success and demonstrated positive impacts of Head Start and programs like it have received bipartisan support for decades. Yet the conservative policy blueprint, Project 2025, called for the total elimination of Head Start, without any plan or even an indication of a plan on where these parents are supposed to now go to find accessible child care for their kids.

***Families need care, not cuts! Sign our letter to Congress NOW urging them to reverse this shameful attack on Head Start and child care!

Undermining families to give even more money to the ultra rich is not how democracy should work. This is not how our country should work. Actions like this put our kids at risk and further throws a child care system that is already broken and massively under-resourced into further turmoil. These sudden, unprecedented, and unwarranted cuts will negatively impact every family seeking and utilizing child care, as well as hurt businesses and the economy. The bottom line is that finding child care where your kid is safe, loved, and learning is already difficult, and these cuts will make it even worse for families – which in turn will put pressure on businesses who need employees.

***SIGN our letter calling on every member of the U.S. Congress to prioritize families over billionaires by rolling back devastating cuts to Head Start and child care!

We will not sit by silently as this administration gleefully decimates the crucial programs that allow parents to to work, provide for their families and contribute to their communities. Trump and his minions may not care about kids, but WE DO. We are in this together and we will not give up on doing the right thing in the face of so much wrong.