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<\/a> <\/p>\nEngage with our community-funded journalism <\/a>as we delve into child care, transitional kindergarten, health and other issues affecting children from birth through age 5.<\/p>\n Head Start has never required documentation of immigration status as a condition for enrollment over the last 60 years of the program, according to a statement from the National Head Start Assn. <\/p>\n \u201cAttempts to impose such a requirement threaten to create fear and confusion among all families who are focused on raising healthy children, ready to succeed in school and life,\u201d said Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Assn. \u201cThis decision undermines the fundamental commitment that the country has made to children and disregards decades of evidence that Head Start is essential to our collective future.\u201d<\/p>\n Health and Human Services estimates that prohibiting undocumented immigrants from accessing Head Start would save $374 million annually, while costing $21 million in time spent by people trying to document and review eligibility, as well as transition costs for the program. <\/p>\n The Education Department, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor also announced that those in the country illegally would be barred from programs run by the agencies, including career, technical, and adult education programs.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, at the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the Administration is taking the biggest step in more than 30 years to protect taxpayer-funded benefits for American citizens \u2014 NOT illegal aliens,\u201d the White House said in a news release. \u201cThe move, which preserves roughly $40 billion in benefits for American citizens, overturns decades of bureaucratic defiance and builds on President Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> directing an END to the subsidization of open borders.\u201d<\/p>\n The announcement shook the Head Start industry, which has already been reeling this year from a series of layoffs, cuts and threats to terminate the program <\/a>entirely. <\/p>\n In a statement, L.A. County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Debra Duardo said the announcement would \u201ccreate a devastating impact not just on L.A. County, but for families and children across the nation. These initiatives have long been the bedrock for children from our most vulnerable communities, offering support, stability and the opportunity to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n But Head Start leaders said it was not clear how the directive will be carried out.<\/p>\n The memo did not specify, for example, whether immigration status would be checked for the parents or the child, said Ed Condon, executive director of the Region 9 Head Start Assn., which represents four states, including California. <\/p>\n \u201cFamily status takes us down one road and child status would take us down another. Most of the kids we serve are citizens,\u201d Condon said. It was also unclear whether the change would apply to all Head Start centers, including those run by school districts. \u201cEverybody is on hold. But this is not good news.\u201d<\/p>\n Attendance at Head Start centers in California has already declined in recent weeks amid the immigration raids, said Melanee Cottrill, executive director of Head Start California. \u201cWe\u2019re already seeing folks who are enrolled in programs but are hesitant to attend because they\u2019re afraid ICE will be in the parking lot.\u201d <\/p>\n She said the new restrictions on immigration status will likely cause enrollment to drop as well \u2014 even for children who are U.S. citizens. \u201cI think the actual impact will go far beyond the intended impact,\u201d said Cottrill.<\/p>\n \u201cWe guarantee every kid an education in this country, regardless of status,\u201d said Ted Lempert, president of Children Now and a former California Assembly member. \u201cThat shouldn\u2019t be different in terms of early education, and certainly not when it comes to Head Start.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal action \u2014 which comes on the tail of additional cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food assistance in the just-approved Republican budget \u2014 will affect some of the most vulnerable young children in the nation, child-care experts said. <\/p>\n \u201cLower-income families often avail themselves of multiple services,\u201d including housing, energy and food assistance, said Donna Sneeringer, chief strategy officer for the Child Care Resource Center, which provides Head Start services to 2,500 children in Southern California. \u201cThey are doing everything they can to put the pieces together to care for their families.\u201d<\/p>\n The notice announcing the change in policy will be published in the Federal Register, at which point a 30-day public comment period will begin. <\/p>\n Health and Human Services said the change is effective immediately because \u201cany delay would be contrary to the public interest and fail to address the ongoing emergency at the Southern Border of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n In April, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit<\/a> that challenges the Trump administration\u2019s attacks on Head Start. The American Civil Liberties Union said in a news release that if the notice takes effect, the plaintiffs plan to amend their complaint to include the changes.<\/p>\n