Head Start is Essential for Our State’s Economy and its Families

By GEEARS for The Saporta Report

In 2025, Georgians need more help than ever accessing high-quality child care and other services for their children, ages birth through five. After all, the pandemic-era relief funds that sustained child care programs and made them more affordable for families expired in September. And in our most recent state legislative session, only $5.4 million in new funding was allocated to child care. 

Because child care is so critical to the function of Georgia’s society and economy, every facet of the state’s early childhood ecosystem is essential. One of these irreplaceable sources of care (and much more) is the federally funded, locally implemented Head Start program. In 2024, more than $280 million in Head Start grants flowed to Georgia child care providers—many of them in rural areas—and served 20,000 children. Nationally, the program has served more than 40 million kids since its inception.  

And yet, Head Start, which has thrived with bipartisan support for 60 years, is in danger. A leaked budget proposal in April called for a complete elimination the program. A more recently reported “skinny” budget proposal does not specifically outline cuts to Head Start, but the early childhood community remains concerned about the program’s future. 

The goal of Head Start and Early Head Start, nationwide, is to “promote school readiness of children ages birth to five from low-income families by supporting the development of the whole child.” In addition to child care, which helps prepare young children for a successful transition to their K-12 years, Head Start is a critical source for wrap-around services, such as physical, mental, and oral health care referrals; nutrition; early intervention for children with disabilities; and employment and education support for caregivers. Early Head Start’s services for pregnant women and young children are part of the two-generation approach that maximizes a family’s well-being and chance to succeed.

In more concrete terms, here’s what’s at stake if Head Start funding evaporates: 

Jobs 

Head Start families are working families. Head Start’s stability and high quality enables parents to thrive at work and school, knowing their little ones are well cared for. When families don’t have child care (and those who qualify for Head Start generally have no other affordable options), job loss or disruption is often a result. According to a recent GEEARS/Metro Atlanta Chamber survey, nearly one in three parents/caregivers of young children have had to leave, not take a job, or greatly change a job due to child care challenges. When parents like these are shut out of the workforce, Georgia loses an annual $2.52 billion in economic activity and an additional $131.7 million in tax revenue. 

Head Start programs are themselves powerful job providers. In Georgia, they employ over 6,000 people and parents of children enrolled in Head Start receive job training and other employment supports. This is especially critical in rural areas where jobs, child care, and health care can be scarce.

Community Essentials

Head Start serves families with incomes below 100% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of four in 2025, this is a little over $32,000/year. Custodians at hospitals and schools average that sort of salary. So do transit operators and medical assistants and groundskeepers. In other words, Head Start recipients are often the essential workers who allow our communities to function and thrive. If the loss of affordable child care compels them to leave the workforce, the functionality of our communities will suffer. 

A Return On Investment 

The government earns 5-9% more per year than it spends on Head Start. That savings comes from Head Start graduates’ reduced need for future public assistance. These adult Head Start graduates are, in fact, 29% less likely to receive public assistance. They’re also 12% less likely to live in poverty and 39% more likely to complete college.

Educationally, high quality early learning like that offered by Head Start also delivers. Currently, only 37% of Georgia’s third graders are reading at grade level. Research shows that this deficit could be improved by greater access to high-quality early education that prepares babies and toddlers for their K-12 years. 

Health Care and Services for Children with Disabilities in Remote Parts of the State 

Many parts of Georgia are healthcare deserts. 64 of our state’s 159 counties have no pediatricians and parents might not have the transportation or time off from work required to take their kids to distant appointments. Head Start often helps these families get the services they need. For families who have a child with a disability, Head Start, again, is an invaluable resource. More than 10 percent of the Head Start population consists of students with disabilities—and those students are served in inclusive classrooms. Head Start is, in fact, the largest early learning provider that mandates the inclusion of children with disabilities.

In 2024, Head Start provided over 13,000 Georgia children with behavioral health screenings and conducted almost 50,000 home visits to far-flung Georgians’ residences. It’s critical that Head Start, with its focus on children’s earliest years, provide these services because kids’ most rapid and consequential development happens between ages birth and five. 

An Integral Part of Georgia’s Early Learning Ecosystem 

Many child care programs that receive Head Start grants also serve children who aren’t enrolled in the program. Those kids’ families might pay tuition or receive assistance from other sources, such as Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program. If centers are forced out of business by Head Start’s elimination, significantly more than 20,000 kids could lose their care. An untold number of these children’s adults will suffer losses as well. These will include parents and caregivers struggling to remain in the workforce (especially women, who are disproportionately affected by child care challenges), educators, health care providers, professionals who rely on Head Start funding to serve children with disabilities, Head Start employees, and eventually, other members of their depleted communities.

All children need a head start in life. Many of Georgia’s kids will only, can only, find their head start in this aptly named program. In its decades of well-researched existence, Head Start has proven itself to be a catalyst for countless children. It has put them on a path to emerge from generational poverty. It has poised them to succeed academically, earn more money, pay more taxes, support our economy, steer clear of the costly criminal justice system, and need fewer government supports like Medicaid, SNAP, or WIC. 

This makes Head Start an economic imperative. It’s also a moral one. Without it, Georgians would suffer harm that would reverberate through generations. We urge our leaders in Congress to continue funding this absolutely vital program and hope you’ll follow suit by heeding the calls to action at GEEARS’ Protect Head Start site.