After the federal government failed to renew a $1.5 million federal grant by Saturday, officials at the Gogebic-Ontonagon Community Action Agency say they had little choice: They closed a free preschool program that has served two counties in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since 1965. The program was among nine Head Starts in Michigan that missed expected weekend payments because of the ongoing federal government shutdown. Unlike others, the UP program could not secure alternative resources in…

Nine Michigan Head Start programs — and the nearly 3,000 kids they serve across the state — that were expecting to receive federal funds by Nov. 1 are at risk of losing these dollars if the federal government shutdown continues into next month, according to the executive director of the Michigan Head Start Association, Robin Bozek. Head Start provides free child care and early education to kids living in poverty, while also serving as a coordinator of services, like health care and food access…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2025   Contact: Robin J. Bozek, Executive Director Michigan Head Start Association robin@michheadstart.org   Federal Courts Temporarily Block Immigration Status Rule for Head Start Families East Lansing, MI — In a major development for Head Start programs, two federal courts have issued Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) halting the administration’s recent attempt to require Head Start programs to verify the immigration status of enrolled children and…

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to improve the process of Federal grantmaking while ending offensive waste of tax dollars, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose.  Every tax dollar the Government spends should improve American lives or advance American interests.  This often does not happen.  Federal grants have funded drag shows in Ecuador, trained doctoral candidates in critical race theory, and developed…

New Trump policy would bar undocumented kids, families from federal Head Start programs Michigan Head Start is left waiting for federal guidance in the wake of new rule requiring families to provide documentation to enroll their kids.   Head Start providers across the country on July 10 received notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that they are now required to verify the citizenship and immigration status of kids before enrollment, effectively barring some families…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 15, 2025 Michigan Head Start Association Media Contact: Robin J. Bozek, Executive Director 517-374-6472, robin@michheadstart.org   MHSA Statement on OHS Requirement of Immigration Status for Head Start Children East Lansing, Michigan - Michigan Head Start Association (MHSA) strongly opposes a new federal rule announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would require some Head Start programs to verify the immigration or citizenship…

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has reversed course on a proposal to cut all funding for Head Start, a preschool and child-care program relied on by hundreds of thousands of low-income families. A spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget, who insisted on remaining unnamed, confirmed to USA TODAY on May 5 that the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget does not include changes to Head Start funding. A budgetary framework released May 2 did not mention Head Start or cuts…

When an early draft of President Trump's budget proposal threatened to defund the Head Start program that helps support nearly 800,000 children and their families nationwide, advocates like Jennifer Garner leapt into action. “There’s nothing more optimistic than reaching a kid when they’re young,” Garner said to NBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff. In fact, TODAY's own Craig Melvin was one of the kids who grew up with support from a Head Start program.  “I’m a Head Start kid,” Craig told Jacob…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2025 Michigan Head Start Association Media Contact: Robin J. Bozek, Executive Director, 517-374-6472, robin@michheadstart.org Proposed Elimination of Head Start in Federal Budget Raises Alarm Across Michigan and the Nation East Lansing, Michigan — Concerns are mounting across Michigan after the National Head Start Association (NHSA) was contacted by a USA Today reporter on Friday, reporting that President Trump’s proposed federal budget includes the complete…

For Immediate Release:  April 2, 2025 Contact:  Robin J. Bozek, robin@michheadstart.org, 517-374-6472   The Michigan Head Start Associaiton just learned yesterday that the Region 5 Office of Head Start was abruptly closed and all of the federal staff were placed on administrative leave until June without any warning. No information as of now has been sent to our communicated to Head Start grantees for who will provide support and the still-existing regional offices were already understaffed…