Having been a Head Start student herself, Lornna Soto Villanueva knows firsthand the value of this federal program. Now the mayor of Canóvanas, a municipality in northeastern Puerto Rico, she oversees five of these centers, which offer early education, health services, and a pathway out of poverty to some of the island’s most vulnerable children.

“These centers are far better than any private school,” the mayor from the New Progressive Party (PNP, in Spanish) said, sounding the alarm as proposed federal cuts threaten the future of Head Start and Early Head Start in the United States and its territories. According to different sources cited by U.S. media outlets, President Donald Trump proposed eliminating funding for the programs as part of his fiscal agenda, prompting concern from mayors, educators, parents, and child development advocates. Although the proposal was later softened, budget cuts and agency downsizing have already begun disrupting services that many families can’t afford to lose.

“There are psychologists, nutritionists, and the entire family is included in the program. From the moment the child arrives… we even work with pregnant mothers. The staff is trained to address every stage of a child’s development. We’re more regulated than any private school or daycare,” Soto Villanueva added, as she made the case for keeping the program alive, which, over the past six years, has served an average of 28,137 children in Puerto Rico.

The potential elimination of the program sparked grassroots organizing across the country. In response, parents, educators, and advocates formed the Movimiento de Padres Orgullosos de Head Start (Proud Parents of Head Start Movement) to defend the program’s future. The group emerged in April, shortly after President Trump’s proposal was made public.

“My daughters went through Head Start, and now so does my granddaughter. Many participants go on to become professionals and end up working at the centers or in the municipality. It’s an incredibly comprehensive and important program because it helps identify special needs in children at a very early age,” said Wanda Soler Rosario, the Popular Democratic Party (PPD, in Spanish) mayor of Barceloneta.

Her municipality manages the grants for 74 centers located in Barceloneta, Lares, Florida, Camuy, Hatillo, and Arecibo, municipalities from the north and northwestern region. These centers serve more than 1,700 children and employ nearly 700 people.

A lack of affordable childcare is one of the main barriers low-income parents in Puerto Rico face when trying to enter the workforce, according to research by the Youth Development Institute (IDJ, in Spanish). That’s why Head Start and Early Head Start are vital — they provide safe, stable environments for children while their families seek or maintain jobs.

Among the services the program provides to prepare children for school are prenatal support for mothers, mental and oral health services for children, nutrition programs, and physical activity. Families are also referred to other professionals or agencies for evaluations or additional assistance.

The Trump administration, however, has a different vision for these federal programs.

Project 2025, a public policy blueprint from the conservative Heritage Foundation designed to guide the next Republican administration, claims that both programs offer “little or no long-term academic value” and recommends eliminating them. Although Trump has said he never read Project 2025, which closely mirrors his political agenda, he later nominated several of its contributors to public positions.

“Head Start is not an expense”

The White House released a letter on May 2 with the President’s budget recommendations for fiscal year 2026. While it doesn’t explicitly defund the program, Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Association, warned that “deep proposed cuts to discretionary programs — many of which Head Start families rely on — pose a serious threat to the stability of these essential services.”

Even if overall funding remains, the closure of half of the 10 regional offices of the federal Administration for Children and Families — which oversees Head Start — has already disrupted operations. Two center directors in Puerto Rico, Lourdes Beauchamp and Ana María Ríos Quiñones, told CPI that for a month they didn’t know which regional office Puerto Rico reported to or who to contact with questions. The island had been assigned to Region 2 in New York but is now under the Southeast Region office in Atlanta, Georgia.

Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera called the regional offices “essential bridges between local centers and the federal government,” adding that their closure “without a clear transition plan puts at risk the services delivered to the most vulnerable families.”

“Trump wants to eliminate bureaucracy. I believe any grantee that maintains financial integrity and provides direct services to the community will be evaluated. If a program is unstable, I imagine he’ll shut it down,” theorized Mayor Soto Villanueva, whose municipality serves 305 children through Head Start and employs about 113 people.

For Rosamar Trujillo Plumey, the PPD mayor of Humacao on Puerto Rico’s east coast, “No municipality in Puerto Rico can sustain Head Start operations on its own.” With the federal budget still under discussion, she sent a letter to the Fiscal Control Board, Governor Jenniffer González, and the Resident Commissioner urging support for the program, which in her municipality serves 719 children across 26 sites and employs 278 workers.

Amy D. Vega Ojeda, head of the Administration for the Comprehensive Care and Development of Childhood (ACUDEN, in Spanish), downplayed the threat of budget cuts, calling it speculation. “As a Head Start grantee, we haven’t received any official communication indicating that our funding will be cut.”

Still, Hernández Rivera warned that “there is a real appetite within the Republican majority in Congress to slash funding for federal programs. But as we’re seeing, many who support cuts in theory back away when faced with the political fallout of eliminating funds that directly benefit their districts.”

Vega Ojeda explained that Head Start grantees — whether municipalities or nonprofits —  must submit five-year funding proposals to the federal government.

“Right now, ACUDEN is in the first year of a five-year approved proposal. As required by regulations, we’ll continue submitting continuity proposals in subsequent years,” she said. 

A coalition of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), parents, and Head Start providers from four states sued the Trump administration to declare its efforts to dismantle the federal program — which serves over 800,000 children nationwide — unconstitutional.

In Puerto Rico’s western region, the program serves more than 500 children at 35 centers across Mayagüez, Añasco, Las Marías, and Maricao.

“Head Start is not an expense; it’s an investment in Puerto Rico’s human capital. Cutting this program in our city would deprive 526 children of the academic and emotional foundation they need to succeed,” said Mayagüez Mayor Jorge Ramos Ruiz in a statement. He also noted that the largest Head Start center in Puerto Rico is currently under construction in Mayagüez, with an investment of over $20 million.

A living example of that investment is Martha E. Feliciano, a preschool teacher in San Juan.

“I was a Head Start student in Camden, New Jersey. My daughters went through the program, and now my grandchildren. I worked for the Municipality of San Juan for nine years until some centers closed, but I didn’t let that stop me. I joined the Head Start program at the Boys and Girls Club,” she said. “As a student, mother, grandmother, and now teacher, I’m proud to have been part of such a beautiful program dedicated to enriching education and helping children become independent and ready to face the world as they begin school,” said the educator, whose organization operates 13 Head Start and Early Head Start centers in San Juan and San Lorenzo.

A Tool to Escape Poverty

“More than just a childcare or preschool program, Head Start is a comprehensive child development program. It not only provides early education but also includes a broad range of multidisciplinary services that support families who are trying to break the cycle of poverty,” said Gloria de Llovio Domínguez, former director of the Multisectoral Council for Early Childhood.

A former operations director of the Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Center for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, she noted that the program encourages parent involvement, whether as classroom volunteers or members of Policy Councils.

Elvia I. Ríos Ríos, a parent who serves on the Dorado Head Start council, said: “During my time with Head Start, they supported and guided me to ensure my child received all the help he needed, always with respect for his unique needs. It’s incredibly rewarding to watch children grow in all areas of development and to see how closely the team works with families.”

Ana Ríos Quiñones, who has 22 years of experience directing Head Start and Early Head Start centers, defends the program as a holistic service. “We provide something essential to our children’s growth,” said the director of the La Ceiba Center in Canóvanas.

Children under five make up 3% of Puerto Rico’s total population, according to 2023 Census Community Survey estimates. Of those, 58% live below the poverty line. That means some 93,771 children qualify for Head Start and Early Head Start.

An IDJ survey found that these children mostly come from households led by working mothers who participate in social assistance programs but still struggle to meet basic needs.

Eliminating the program “would be devastating for low-income children. It would shut parents out of the workforce and widen the gap for kids entering kindergarten less prepared than their peers,” warned María Enchautegui Román, IDJ’s research director. She also noted that private options are insufficient to absorb the Head Start and Early Head Start student population.

The cost of childcare in Puerto Rico varies by location, type of facility, and child’s age — ranging from $3,107 to $5,852 per year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

“Sometimes in private daycare, parents say, ‘I’m paying, so I don’t want homework sent home.’ But for us, it’s important that parents carry the intention of quality time with their children beyond the classroom. If we plant the seed of valuing education and quality family time, that impact will last — and we’ll all see the return, including the government, when these children grow up to be professionals,” said Ríos Quiñones.

According to ACUDEN, priority for Head Start enrollment is given to children in foster care, those experiencing homelessness, children with disabilities, families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and those living below the poverty line. To qualify, a single-parent household must earn less than $15,650 annually; a two-person household must earn less than $21,150; and a three-person household less than $26,650.

“I’m the mother of a child who has been in Early Head Start since he was nine months old. Thanks to the program, my son has grown more independent and is making great strides in learning. He now gets speech therapy at the center, which has helped him immensely. Because of this program, I’ve been able to keep working. Daycare today is extremely expensive and often out of reach for parents like us,” wrote Yari Nieves on the movement’s Facebook page.

ACUDEN, which administers the funds for 114 Early Head Start and Head Start centers, currently has a budget of $248.2 million, 94% of which comes from federal funding. For the next fiscal year, beginning in July, the agency has requested a consolidated budget of $152 million, of which 91% would be federally funded. If approved, about $45.3 million would go to Head Start programs.

Vega Ojeda told the CPI that the lower proposed budget is due to “the conclusion of previously obligated recovery funds.”

Jesús Colón Berlingeri, the PNP mayor of Orocovis, a mountainous town in the center of the island, emphasized, “We must keep educating the White House and members of Congress. We have to show that this money is essential and well spent for the benefit of Puerto Rico’s children.”

In Orocovis, Head Start serves an estimated 700 children, 400 families, and employs around 300 people. The municipality also manages grants for the neighboring towns of Corozal, Barranquitas, and Villalba, where over half the population under age five lives below the poverty line, according to the 2023 Census Community Survey.

In a statement defending these centers, the executive director of the National Head Start Association called on “everyone who values the critical role of Head Start to keep urging lawmakers to prioritize these programs during the budget process. We will not stop until there is a clear guarantee that Head Start and its services will be fully protected in fiscal year 2026.”

This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and thoroughly reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.