Country going.
I know, I know.
It looks like they've got us
all set to go.
As the government shutdown became
the longest in U.S.
History, the impacts piled up.
Across Wisconsin, early learning
Head Start programs had to close
down, shuttering child care
programming for hundreds of
children.
One of them covers five counties
and is run by the Southwestern
Wisconsin Community Action Program.
It closed nine Head Start
classrooms at the start of this
month.
We're joined now by the director
of Head Start Programs there,
Tawny Harding.
And thanks very much for being here.
Thank you.
So I see that you are joining
us from one of your empty
classrooms.
How hard is this for you to see
happen?
Very difficult call.
Even though this is
out of our control, we feel
really responsible for our families
and the children and
the impacts that we make within
their lives.
And so it's really hard
to have told the families this
after you've encouraged them to,
you know, come to your center,
enroll in your program.
To see the empty classroom is hard.
These are three and four children
here.
At the center.
They have fun every day.
We have great teachers here,
and we just worry about, you know,
what do they do?
And we miss them.
So children and staff in nine
classrooms, how many children are
now without this early learning?
That portion of our grant funding
serves 145 preschool children,
ages three and four across,
like I said, nine different
classrooms at seven different
locations across rural
Southwestern Wisconsin.
So, and we have 34 staff
furloughed as a result of
the lack.
Of a grant.
How disruptive is this in
the lives of the families whose
children are there?
It's extremely disruptive.
You can imagine as
three or four-year-old children, it
takes a little while to transition
into a classroom and to get
accustomed to things.
And then suddenly this routine that
they've been in every week
ends.
And they're kind of wondering what's
going on.
Additionally, with families, they
rely on these classrooms for
childcare while some of the families
go to work or school.
And they have, when they came to our
program in September, they would
have.
Let go of a different enrollment
spot, potentially at another child
care provider.
This area is also
a child care desert in many of our
communities, so they
were having struggles trying to find
other arrangements for their
children. If they don't have family
or friends that are able to help
them.
Another thing that impacts the
families is that these children
receive breakfast, lunch and snack
at our centers every day kind of
through the same program that
children receive foods through
elementary, you know, middle school,
high school.
And so families
were able to rely on that part of
their food security
and now with the
upheaval, although it sounds like
it's turning around, but the up
heaval with the SNAP benefits, many
families were really wondering
about their food security
additionally.
How are they dealing with that, do
you know?
And in as much contact
with families since the
shutdown,
they were very upset, very
worried,
scrambling,
wondering what were they going to
do, asking our staff
if they would be available
to watch their children while they
went to work.
So yeah, they just kind
of feel like the rug was yanked out
from underneath them.
They had a routine going.
They had made arrangements.
Like I said, to work or go to
school. And then in the middle,
right at the end of October, we had
to let them know that our funding
has not been approved for the next
12-month grant cycle.
So as
As you mentioned, your staff
are furloughed, going
without pay.
Are you worried in that
child care desert there
in southwest Wisconsin that you'll
lose staff because they just can't
hang on?
Oh, yes, absolutely.
We have lost one staff person
already that was,
you know, fortunately for that staff
person, another opportunity came
into, you know, landed in
her lap right away.
And I just said, well, you
know, I understand you're going to
have to go and do that.
And there will be other staff.
Yes, we had three staff that
were set to start new
hire orientation on Monday, November
the third.
And we had already, you
Completed all of the background
checks all of those safety things
that we have to for our child care
centers and those folks had
notified their Employer
at the time that they would be
leaving and resigning and coming to
our agency So I don't know
if we'll be able to retain those
staff We had another
three staff that we just
hired mid-october
So they're in the same thing.
They just left a former employer and
came to our Agency and then
it just You know, I just
wonder if they're gonna feel like
we're a good agency to be employed
with if this has happened right
after they've arrived or right as
they were planning to come.
Has this kind of disruption ever
happened before with this program?
No, this has not,
to my knowledge, this program has
been in existence since the 60s
and so I don't have all of that
historical knowledge but in
the more recent past 20, 25
years, no, this is not happened.
How valuable are the benefits
of Head Start programming for
these children?
Oh, they learn so many
things as they get ready to enter
kindergarten.
You know, one of the biggest things
that kids learn are some social
skills. Like how do I learn
to listen to instructions?
How do I learned to follow the
routines of school? How do make
friends?
You know those things are so much
even more important than the ABCs
and one, two, three.
It's just learning how to listen.
When do I sit still?
When do get up to go?
This might be their first experience
away from home.
So it gets them prepared for
what that environment would be like
at the school.
And they have a lot of fun.
We have a really beautiful outdoor
playground.
We do have routine and
structure, but it is a play-based
learning environment.
So they're completing art every
day, reading books.
There's a block center, dramatic
play. We know how kids love to dress
up, especially we just had
Halloween. So.
They're just gaining so many things,
so much confidence.
So we had, in this particular
classroom, we have 14
children and we had three at the
beginning of the year that just were
heartbroken, right?
They hadn't been away from home
before and they cried.
And so that part has ended for them.
They are adjusted, they're used
to coming and now we're worried if
the shutdown happens, you
know, for a long period of time, how
difficult will it be for them to
transition back into this setting?
Even if or when federal
funding resumes,
will you be able to kind of
seamlessly bring your
programming back up to speed?
It won't be as quick as what
a person might think.
So when
the federal government shut down,
our regional offices, the national
offices that support programs,
those staff were furloughed on
October 1st.
So we have grant applications.
As I said, our grant cycle runs from
November 1st to October 31st.
And that grant application is in
there, in the system, waiting
to be awarded.
So once the government opens
back up, They will have to recall
those federal.
Those regional and national workers
for Head Start.
They'll have to review our
application again, and then we
have to wait for the notice of
award.
So our understanding is
that could take about one to two
weeks.
And then once we receive the notice
of award, hopefully
it will be for the
full amount that we have requested.
Then we would put together a
plan, recall staff, give them a
little bit of time in the classroom
to get things back up
and running, such as.
Getting food, groceries for
breakfast, lunch and snack, and then
contact families.
So it's going to take us at least
probably three weeks would
be my guess, even after the
government reopens.
Tony Hardiman, thanks very much
for explaining to us what your
program does.
Well, thank you for the opportunity.
I bet you miss all those little
faces too.
Oh, I do.
They're so sweet.
They hug you all the time.
And they just, you know, hi,
because my office is here.
And when I walk by the classroom,
they say hi.
And if you're having a bad day,
there's not a better place to be
than to come in, take a break, and
read a book to a child.
Well, again, thank you.
I think it really sheds a lot of
light on the real world
impact of all of this,
yeah.
Thank you.
Well, thank for the opportunity.
Have a great day.
You too, good luck going forward.
Thanks, bye bye.
Bye.