Leaked document reveals the administration’s FY 2026 funding blueprint which includes budget cuts recommended by the Heritage Foundation and put forth in the “Project 2025” plan
By CommUnify
Two key programs which have received bipartisan support for decades and help the most vulnerable members of the community are on the chopping block. A White House draft budget proposal was recently leaked and does not allocate any money towards Head Start, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and lists them among the many programs to be eliminated should this budget pass in the next few weeks.
Head Start operates in all 50 states and employs more than 250,000 people at 18,000 centers nationwide. The loss of Head Start would impact more than 1 million parents who rely on the program and wouldn’t be able to go to work or
would be forced to choose between their livelihoods and a safe, reliable place for their children. These closures cut off childcare for hundreds of thousands of low-income families, for whom a day without work is often a day without pay.
“This proposal does not reflect fiscal responsibility. It reflects a divestment in our future,” said Yasmina Vinci, executive director of National Head Start Association. “Eliminating funding for Head Start would be catastrophic. It would be a direct attack on our nation’s most at-risk children, their well-being, and their families. Head Start is more than just a preschool program. It provides whole-child essential support – from early learning to parenting services to nutritious meals and health screenings – for nearly 800,000 children and helps level the playing field for children who might otherwise fall behind before even starting kindergarten. Many Head Start children are in foster care or are homeless so these cuts affect those who need these services the most.”
For every $1 invested in Head Start, America reaps a ROI ranging from $7 to $9 ~ James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, University of Chicago
In Santa Barbara County, CommUnify’s Head Start program serves nearly 600 children and their families including infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, at 20 centers across the county. Since 1967, Head Start has served 55,000 residents countywide and more than 200 staff are employed by the program. These Head Start centers also provide over 160,000 healthy meals to the children each year.
“Without Head Start, families who are already struggling financially could experience even greater economic burdens as they would have to spend funds they don’t have on childcare, or forgo working in order to stay home with their children,” said Patricia Keelean CEO for CommUnify. “This would in turn impact local workforces across our nation and in our county, and could create other negative outcomes such as increased homelessness, food insecurity, mental health challenges, and unsafe/unlicensed childcare settings.”
In addition to purging Head Start, the Trump administration’s proposed FY 2026 budget would also eliminate Community Services Block Grants (CSBG) which provide funding to Community Action Agencies across the nation to address the root causes and conditions of poverty by supporting a wide range of services including emergency assistance, education, job training and other resources. A third program to be eliminated by the proposed funding cuts includes the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which provides utility bill assistance to struggling families and seniors. LIHEAP plays a crucial role in helping 6 million income constrained families afford energy costs, preventing 2.75 million utility disconnections annually, and improving energy efficiency in 60,000 households, enhancing the overall well-being and safety
of vulnerable households. About 20 million households in the US are behind on their energy bills. That’s up by 30% since 2023 and equates to 1 in 6 people. And the percentage of income spent on utilities is wildly disproportionate. Low-income families spend 22.8% of their income on home energy as compared to the 2.9% spent by the highest income families. In the last 12 months, 27% of Americans reduced or went without basic needs such as food and medicine so they could pay their energy bill.
“Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy should be ashamed of this budget because they are proposing to take money out of the pockets of six million very poor families so the well-off can get even bigger tax breaks,” said Mark Wolfe, CEO of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), which works closely with the LIHEAP program. “These residents may have to go without heat or air conditioning if this budget gets passed, and people will die or have big health consequences because of it. At a time when families are fighting to make ends meet – and tariffs are poised to drive prices even higher – it’s unconscionable to rip away this help offered to people in need,” Wolfe said. “A $500 energy grant might not matter to (upper income residents), but it could literally mean life or death for families facing extreme winter cold and summer heat.”
In 2024, CommUnify provided utility payment assistance through LIHEAP to 3,984 individuals across 1,641 households throughout Santa Barbara County. These residents included vulnerable seniors as well as families grappling with astronomical rents and rising utility bills.
“The elimination of the LIHEAP program could mean that our seniors and struggling families have to choose between keeping their lights on or buying lifesaving medications and food,” said Kemba Lawrence, Director of Community Services for CommUnify. “Incomes are not keeping pace with the cost of living – particularly here in Santa Barbara County – and these essential programs give families and seniors the support they need on their path to self sufficiency.”
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CommUnify is a nonprofit organization working in partnership with the community to find innovative and sustainable solutions for Santa Barbara County residents to improve and maintain their health, resilience and financial security. For a complete description of all 16 of CommUnify’s programs and services please visit the website www.CommUnifySB.org.
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Leaked documents?? Sounds like more fear-mongering to me.
No, it’s a characteristic of this administration, especially for defense secrets.
Cutting “Head Start” is just plan nuts. The return on investment is between 7 and 9%. You can’t buy bonds or get a bank account that does better than that. How does it do it? It brings kids from depressed families up-to-speed. They learn everything from washing their hands after going to the bathroom to learning to read and count and learning language. They aren’t behind at kindergarten, so they graduate not drop out, they “belong” at school, so they don’t need gangs and end up employed and paying taxes not in prisons where the cost-per-inmate usually exceeds state college tuitions. As for quality of life, are moms forced into welfare situations b/c they can’t provide for their kids more likely to get into vices to make it through the day? Are they likely to live with/marry violent or ne’er-do-well men with bad habits and make more babies in poverty?
I hope that the Head Start program is not completely defunded and/or dismantled. That would be a true shame. On the bright side, this program can be replicated and funded at the local and state level without the rules/regulations that come with the Federal funds. It would be nice to not have to worry about the rules these goons have in place just to get their money money money.
It’s a true shame, but we’d be better off without it?
Makes about as much sense as most of your comments.
Bend those Knees!
The shame is that you firmly believe shutting down Head Start and DEI programs is somehow going to “Make America Great Again.” A disastrous first 100 days and you want to go after needy children and those who are simply trying to get a foothold on an unfair playing field. Let’s see how much more damage will be inflicted upon the world in the next 1360 days.
BEES – note the question mark there. ANON is summarizing YOUR comment.
That’s a lot of assumptions about “depressed families”, Luvaduck.