MADISON, WI - On Feb 04, 2025, new reporting from Wisconsin Public Radio confirmed that federal funding was still frozen for roughly half of Wisconsin’s Head Start programs, jeopardizing access to child care for hundreds of families across the state. In Waukesha, one Head Start program remains closed after receiving a notice from the Office of Management and Budget ordering it to shut down, leaving 250 families without child care.

It is clear that despite court orders blocking the Republican freeze on critical programs Wisconsinites depend on, funds are still being withheld. At the same time, reporting from Washington indicates that associates of Elon Musk have gained access to the government payment system at the Treasury Department. Already, a 25-year-old Musk operative has reportedly made “extensive changes to the code base” of the system disbursing 95 percent of all government payments.

WPR: Half of Wisconsin Head Start programs can’t access needed funds after federal freeze
Richelle Wilson

One week after the Trump administration ordered a pause on federal grants and loans, many Head Start programs in Wisconsin are still unable to access needed funds and are facing uncertainty about whether they can stay open.

While the White House publicly rescinded the memo announcing the freeze, nonprofit organizations around the state are reporting they remain locked out of the payment systems that they use to pay staff and keep operations running.

“I’m hearing from people all across the country and here in Wisconsin that they’re still impacted by the freeze,” Shawn Phetteplace told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “There’s a lot of confusion about this right now, but if you talk to Head Starts, if you talk to child care providers … they’re still frozen out, and they can’t access the funds.”

[…]

Jen Bailey, board president of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, said that as of Friday, about half of the Head Start programs in the state were still unable to access funding.

That includes Child and Family Centers of Excellence in Waukesha, which closed its doors last week after the freeze was announced. Tim Nolan, who runs the program, told “Wisconsin Today” he received a notice from the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, last Monday, directing the center to shut down by the end of the day on Tuesday.

“When OMB asks, you do it,” he said. “So we did as we were told to do on Tuesday, which was shut down.”

Later, when he followed up about the status of the funding freeze, Nolan was told programs like Head Start and Meals on Wheels would not be affected. But since then, he said the payment management system of the U.S. Treasury, which he uses to request funds for things like rent and payroll, has not been working. 

[…]

This May, Head Start is set to celebrate its 60th birthday. But Nolan worries about the future of the program in light of the week’s events.

“Will there be a 61st, 62nd year?” he asked. “Who knows? I don’t know.”