FOLLOWING SUDDEN CLOSURE OF SULLIVAN COUNTY HEAD START CENTER THAT’S LEFT FAMILIES SCRAMBLING FOR CHILDCARE, SCHUMER CALLS ON FEDS TO TAKE ALL AVAILBLE MEASURES TO EXPEDITE ALL REQUESTS AND DEVELOP LONG-TERM PLAN FOR NEW STABLE CHILDCARE IN SULLIVAN COUNTY

Letter

Dear Secretary Becerra:

I write with an urgent request to ensure that families in Sullivan County, New York are receiving services following the abrupt and disruptive closure of Sullivan County Head Start. Sullivan County Head Start unexpectedly closed on February 2, 2024, leaving hundreds of children and families without critical services that they depend on. I understand that the Office of Head Start is taking steps to mitigate the harm caused by this crisis, and that this closure was not a decision that was made by the Office of Head Start. Nonetheless, the impacted families are struggling, and they are desperately in need of the services provided by the Sullivan County Head Start. According to the latest available data, Sullivan County’s poverty rate is higher than the national and state average. The County is also a recognized childcare desert where affordable and accessible childcare is inaccessible for many who call the area home. I urge you to take all available measures at your disposal to expediate the reopening of Head Start Program’s in Sullivan County and ensure the full range of childcare services previously offered can be back up and running as soon as possible. It is critical that all steps be taken to expeditiously secure a consistent stable interim service provider for all impacted families and that a long term solution be found to ensure this problem does not happen again.

The Sullivan County Head Start served more than 350 children and families and employs 85 full-time and 11 part-time workers. The impact of its closure is a profound burden for my constituents – children without essential services and the daily routines that they need, parents unable to go into work to make a living, and workers left without a job and unable to serve the community that they so deeply care about. The harm is more substantial for children with special needs or in foster care who have to jump through additional hurdles to find the care that they need. Head Start prides itself on providing comprehensive child development services for the community it serves, supporting everyone from children from prenatal to age three, pregnant women and partners, and their families. The services that the Head Start program provide reach far and wide: education, free dental and medical screenings, nutrition, mental health, and family engagement programs. The Head Start programs in Sullivan County are an indispensable foundation of that community’s health and well-being, and HHS must do everything in its power to reopen the Sullivan County Head Start as soon as possible.

I understand that Director Garvin of the Office of Head Start has committed to resuming Head Start services as soon as possible. I also understand that, with Sullivan County Head Start’s relinquishing of its Head Start grant, the Office of Head Start now stands ready to transition Sullivan County Head Start program to an interim service provider. This transition needs to happen as soon as possible, and I urge you to do everything in your power to expedite this process. In the meantime, we must continue to provide all of our 350 children and families with the care and services they require. I urge you to work to ensure that the interim service provider can refer as many children and families to alternative programs during this transitionary period, so that our children can get the services that they need and their parents can go back to work.

Again, I urge you to be sure that HHS and the Office of Head Start does everything in its powers to ensure that Sullivan County Head Start programs resumes operation as soon as possible, and facilitates the transition to an interim service provider. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

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