Some Head Start providers in Louisiana have taken out loans to keep operating if the government shutdown stretches into its second month.
At least two organizations — Prime Time in the Lafayette area and Clover in New Orleans — are supposed to receive funding through the federal early-learning program for low-income families on Nov. 1. That money won’t be distributed if the government remains closed.
Local programs are funded annually, but grants are renewed on different timelines, so the shutdown won’t be felt equally across the state and country.
Nationally, 134 centers serving more than 65,000 kids will run out of federal funds at the end of the month, according to the National Head Start Association.
More than 18,000 kids participate in Head Start programs in Louisiana, though only about 1,300 would be impacted on Nov. 1.
In Alabama, fewer than 1,000 children would be affected, and none in Mississippi. The states hardest hit next month include Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Ohio.
Prime Time serves approximately 635 kids across four locations in the Lafayette area. Clover, formerly Kingsley House, enrolls about 700 children ages 6 weeks to 5 years in New Orleans.
The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities approved a $650,000 loan to Prime Time, its subsidiary, earlier this month, to maintain services through November. LEH is “planning ahead for Dec. 1, the next critical date if the shutdown continues,” the head of both organizations, Miranda Restovic, said in a press release.
Clover has a line of credit to cover its expenses next month, its spokesperson, Sabrina Written, said, but couldn’t comment on funding beyond that.
Yolanda Motley, Clover’s head of early learning, said this is the first time the organization has had to take out a line of credit in its more than 100-year history.
“This is a very different time for all of us,” Motley said. “We are in a dire situation.”
They have enough money to operate through November with “just the basics,” she said. That means no field trips, festivities, staff travel or professional development.
If the shutdown lasts, Motley said she doesn’t know if Clover can keep providing services into December.
“We need the shutdown to end,” she said. “There are children who won’t have access to learning. They get three meals a day… our families won’t be able to go to work. It’s gonna be a ripple effect.”
