Every Child Deserves a Head Start Act of 2025
This bill, titled the Every Child Deserves a Head Start Act of 2025, would codify and restore a formal Office of Head Start within the Department of Health and Human Services (Administration for Children and Families). It requires the central office and 12 regional offices to be re-established with the organizational structure and staffing levels that existed before January 20, 2025, and it would prevent the Secretary from restructuring or reducing Head Start staff without funding and explicit oversight. The regional offices are given specific roles and locations, including separate regional focus for American Indian/Alaskan Native Head Start programs and for Migrant/Seasonal Head Start grants. The bill also adds transparency by mandating advance notice and public disclosure if any plan to alter the Office of Head Start is proposed. In short, the bill aims to protect Head Start from proposals to eliminate or drastically reconfigure the program, preserve its regional structure, and ensure continued staffing and oversight with added legislative notification requirements.
Key Points
- 1Establishes the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the Department of Health and Human Services, including a central office and 12 regional offices, to operate as of January 20, 2025 baseline.
- 2Reinstates or retains the pre-2025 internal organizational structure of the Office of Head Start and requires staffing levels not less than the levels in place immediately before January 20, 2025.
- 3Defines the regional offices’ structure and functions:
- 4- Regions I–X: aligned with the 10 ACF geographic regions, handling grants in their regions.
- 5- Region XI: located at the central office, focusing on American Indian and Alaskan Native Head Start grants.
- 6- Region XII: located at the central office, focusing on Migrant and Seasonal Head Start grants.
- 7- Regional offices administer funding, oversight, training, and technical assistance; manage regional Head Start operations; liaise with the Office of Child Care and the Office of Grants Management.
- 8Prohibits the Secretary from restructuring the Office of Head Start or reducing its workforce in ways that would change the established structure or staffing levels, unless funds are available.
- 9Notice requirement: at least 60 days before proposing any action that would be limited by the above restrictions, the Secretary must publicly share the plan, provide a justification, and notify the relevant congressional committees.