Over the last 15 years, there have been several full or partial government shutdowns. These shutdowns usually don’t last more than a few days, and the impact on Head Start has traditionally been minimal. The longest shutdown in U.S. history lasted for 35 days in 2018-2019 as a result of a dispute between President Trump and Congress regarding the wall being constructed on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Why Government Shutdowns Happen
Under current law, federal agencies cannot spend or obligate any money without an appropriation (or other approval) from Congress. When Congress fails to enact the annual appropriation bills, federal agencies must cease all non-essential functions until Congress acts. This is known as a government shutdown. A government shutdown also means that Congress and the president aren’t able to agree on federal funding levels before funding expires. Because of the gap in funding, the government shuts down until Congress and the president agree to a deal to provide funding for the impacted government services.
If Congress enacts some but not all of the 12 appropriations bills, only agencies without appropriations have to shut down; this is known as a partial shutdown.
A continuing resolution, or a CR, is a funding bill that extends a prior year’s funding for a specific period of time. Generally, CRs are short-term and last from a few days to a few months, but sometimes Congress will pass a full-year CR, which means that funding is flat for the entire government for that fiscal year.
Potential Implications for Head Start
While the impact of a shutdown looks different across federal agencies and services, historically, there has been minimal impact on Head Start programs. A few examples of what has occurred in the past during government shutdowns include:
- Federal employees were placed on furlough throughout the shutdown, though they were paid back pay after the shutdown was resolved. This did not apply to Head Start program staff, however, as they are not federal employees.
- Agencies, such as the Office of Head Start (OHS), labeled a few staff as “essential” employees, meaning that they were responsible for working and making sure the basic functions of the office took place. The “essential” employees list has never been shared and usually has only been a couple of individuals at the national office.
- Your login information may get locked out of Payment Management Services (PMS) because help may be delayed during a shutdown. Staff being placed on furlough may mean that meetings with program specialists and other OHS staff were canceled, and communication was ceased throughout the shutdown. Be sure to have your current and correct login information on hand to avoid that.
- Core systems, like the PMS and the Head Start Enterprise System, remained operational. There is only one instance that we know of where the PMS stopped working for a few agencies during a shutdown; however, that was quickly resolved after NHSA brought it to the attention of the White House.
- Monitoring and training and technical assistance (T/TA) have continued operating during shutdowns because they are conducted by government contractors, not by federal employees. Programs have typically not been able to reach or talk to their program specialists during that time.
The biggest impact of a shutdown is that grant recipients may not receive their notices of award. In the past, OHS has tried to send these notices in advance to Head Start agencies whose grant year begins during a possible shutdown. It appears as though OHS is trying to do exactly that this year for the October 1 grant recipients, as well as those recipients who had April or May start dates for their grant and need to receive their second 50% grant award to sustain them throughout the year.
Steps You Can Take Moving Forward
- Take action: Be sure to take action and write to your members of Congress today using the convenient NHSA Take Action tool and share this link broadly, including on your personal and professional social media channels.
- Check your Payment Management Services (PMS) and other core systems: Be sure you have your current and correct login information on hand. During a shutdown, resetting passwords and other administrative features may not be accessible, and any help will be delayed due to the shutdown. We have been told that PMS should stay open in the event of a shutdown, so if you have issues accessing funds, please let us know ASAP.
- Essential communication: Stay in touch with NHSA and your state/regional Head Start Association. We will pass along updates over the next few days. Keep us updated if there are any issues with your program or families’ experiences.
- Equip parents and allies to speak: Provide messaging to parents and allies about the impact of the potential shutdown on local services so they can be prepared to speak with the media and stakeholders. The NHSA communications team will share key message points in case of a shutdown and can help with any press inquiries. Email us at media@nhsa.org.
- Contact community partners: Leverage your community partners that can help families, such as food banks, school districts, etc. Inform them ahead of time of the potential shutdown and explain what that might mean for your services, including if you don’t expect there to be significant disruptions.
The best action you can take at this time is to stay in close contact with NHSA and your state/regional association. The sooner you can share any issues you’re experiencing, the faster NHSA can follow up in the right places to address those issues, be it through Congress, the White House, other federal agency staff, or the national press. Please email us at shutdownsupport@nhsa.org.
While it is an uncertain and potentially disruptive time, know that we have your back throughout it all!
