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that early childhood鈥攖hose critical years from infancy to age 5鈥攊mpacts long-term social, emotional, physical, and cognitive well-being. Kids who access , for example, score better on tests, earn better grades, and are more likely to stay in school and head off to college. They鈥檙e also , smoke cigarettes, or use drugs by age 21. Even well into adulthood, these programs have been linked to higher wages, better physical and mental health, and 鈥攁nd these benefits are just the .

Clearly, what happens in a child鈥檚 early years matters. But there are a to early childhood development opportunities, including the exorbitant costs of childcare in the United States, miles-wide childcare deserts in rural areas, underpaid and burnt-out educators, and under-resourced facilities that can鈥檛 meet the overwhelming demand for their services.

Amid this already-uphill battle for early childcare, Project 2025鈥攖he , former Trump officials, and right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation鈥攑lans to make these barriers even higher.

Though Project 2025 aspires to overhaul nearly all aspects of the federal government under Donald Trump, its and family care are particularly brazen. Not only does Project 2025 intend to strip reproductive rights through federal abortion bans and restrict family-planning options such as IVF and contraceptives, it would also eliminate , a federally funded childcare and early-development program for low-income kids, pregnant people, and families.

Launched in 1965, Head Start was designed to disrupt, and ultimately end, intergenerational poverty by providing free, wraparound early-development services to children from infancy to age 5. Head Start offers education, full-time childcare centers, medical support, and social services to families in need. Since its founding, .

Even those who may never access or qualify for Head Start benefit from it. In the South, for example, local Head Start programs became spaces for . In the 鈥�70s, for childcare centers and caregivers across the country and has since set the standard for innovative childcare methods and research. Head Start even funded the much-loved children鈥檚 TV show Sesame Street.

鈥淧rograms like Head Start serve majority-Black and Brown communities, and I think it鈥檚 just racist to defund these programs,鈥� says Liz Bangura, a doula, social justice coordinator, and former educator at Jump Start, a national nonprofit partner program for Head Start. As a doula, Bangura works exclusively with Black and Brown mothers and says they鈥檝e seen firsthand how Head Start changes families鈥� lives.

鈥淗ead Start plays a huge role in caring for the child after labor … when [families] are able to be in these programs, I visibly see the relief in [mothers] when they鈥檙e able to go to work and also drop their kid off somewhere where they know they鈥檙e being taught how to read, [where] they鈥檙e socializing with other students.鈥�

Project 2025鈥檚 overt targeting of Head Start is about more than just early education and childcare centers. It鈥檚 about creating a country where generations of low-income children and families are left behind. But rather than fighting only for the preservation of Head Start, it鈥檚 equally important to understand its limitations and work toward a society where all families have access to the consistent, high-quality care they need鈥攔egardless of who sits in the White House.

Without Early Care, a Cascade of Harm

Head Start is a critical program, but it simply isn鈥檛 reaching all the families who need it. Access to Head Start is determined by , and as a result many families are caught in the welfare gap: scraping by, living paycheck to paycheck, but still making too much to qualify for Head Start. A (NIEER) found that in the 2020-2021 school year, Head Start and its sister-program, Early Head Start, did not reach even half of all eligible children living in poverty.

Likewise, many families who don鈥檛 meet Head Start鈥檚 eligibility requirements are left to make do on their own.

For Ymani Blake, a lower-middle-class mother living in Chicago, accessing quality childcare for her 3-year-old has been a challenge from Day 1. Despite applying for funding and assistance multiple times, Blake has always been denied support 鈥渂ecause we鈥檙e either making too much money or our schedules are not aligned [with the programs].鈥�

Timing, too, is a challenge. Last year, Blake applied to a program that would give her daughter, who has a speech delay, access to occupational therapists, speech therapists, and other resources the family couldn鈥檛 otherwise afford. But by the time program coordinators got in touch, Blake鈥檚 daughter was only a month away from aging out of the program. 鈥淣o services were rendered because she aged out,鈥� Blake says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of advocacy and labor that is falling back on parents to get quality education and childcare.鈥�

With limited options, Blake put her daughter in a private daycare program鈥攂ut pulled her out after less than a month due to the cost. According to data from the Center for American Progress, the attending a childcare center was more than $13,000. For two children under 4, that number jumps to more than $23,000.

Blake was then drawn to a sliding-scale Montessori school with a progressive approach to early-childhood education. 鈥淯nfortunately, there was a situation where they left the gate open, and my daughter got out and crossed the street on her own,鈥� Blake says. 鈥淚t was so hurtful because that was the only option that I could find … but then it鈥檚 not safe.鈥� 

Caught between age and income restrictions, the high cost of private care, and a concern for her daughter’s safety, this lack of childcare support has led to a cascade of harm for Blake. Without assistance, the family can鈥檛 afford daycare or private speech therapists, so Blake is forced to stay home from work and look after her daughter, who loses out on critical social-emotional and development opportunities with kids her own age. And without two parents in the workforce, the family鈥檚 income is ultimately lowered even more. 

Everybody should have access to these programs like Head Start, Blake says. 鈥淒aycare should be free.鈥�

It Takes a Village

Without accessible childcare, many families must instead rely on their own creativity, grit, and communities to ensure their children have the support they need.

After separating from her husband in late 2021, Hattie Assan, a mother living in Ohio with her two children, ages 5 and 7, began relying more and more on the support of friends鈥攎ostly other moms in the process of divorce. The following year, one friend, Rachel, mentioned her landlord was increasing her rent, and Assan offered to share her own home. By August of 2022, Rachel and her three children moved into Assan鈥檚 three-bedroom house, forming a new household with two adults and five kids. 

鈥淸Shared living] has always been a seed, and it really only started blossoming after my marriage ended,鈥� says Assan. 鈥淚 felt more free to just live the way that feels more compatible and sustainable and supportive to the realities of living in late-stage capitalism. I think we鈥檙e probably all designed to be more interdependent than an individualist society sets us up to believe.鈥�

Eventually, Rachel moved directly across the street from Assan. This past fall, Assan welcomed in another single mom, Carli, and her three kids. (Rachel and Carli both requested their last names be withheld to protect their privacy.) In each situation, Assan and her housemates worked out equitable house payments and utility costs, and shared in the labor of cooking, babysitting, and running a household.

Assan opens her home to her wider community as well. Twice a month, Assan hosts 鈥渟paghetti nights鈥� in her front yard, a free meal and welcoming space for families and kids of all ages. After Assan鈥檚 mother had a stroke in 2022 and was no longer able to help with babysitting, Assan says spaghetti night attendees banded together and raised $9,000 in less than 24 hours鈥攅nough to cover childcare costs for more than six months.

Blake, too, is finding success through mutual aid. Using her background as a doula and birth worker, Blake is working twice a week at a local play- and nature-based daycare in exchange for her daughter鈥檚 enrollment. 鈥淚 do not get paid a lot for this position, but [my daughter] will have access. And that鈥檚 because me and the owner are centering community care,鈥� says Blake. 鈥淚 love being there because it also gives me the tools that I need to help parent my child.鈥�

Still, no matter how important or inventive an individual workaround is, both Blake and Assan believe wider, systemic changes are needed to ensure all children and families have access to childcare and early-development resources. These solutions require not only defending Head Start, but also investing in programs not dependent on income.

Some politicians are already answering this call. In 2014, former New York City Mayor for all 4-year-olds, and then launched 3-K for All in 2017 to provide free childcare and education for all 3-year-olds. In 2023, New York City Council members proposed legislation that would aged 6 weeks to 5 years old鈥攁 dramatic expansion of early-childhood programming for all families in the city, regardless of location, income, or citizenship. (This legislation is especially important as the city鈥檚 current mayor, .)

Other countries, too, have long recognized universal childcare as a key strategy to support families, address inequality, and simply raise healthy, happy young people. in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are well known for their generous parental leave policies and well-run national childcare systems. Both at home and abroad, these initiatives provide a working model for the United States鈥攁nd prove that universal childcare programs, at both the state and federal level, are attainable.

Given the , federal solutions to the country鈥檚 childcare struggles are unlikely under the incoming Trump administration. While states and cities can implement smaller-scale solutions, the reality is that many families will need to follow the community-care models embraced by Assan and Blake: fortify and expand existing networks, lean on their neighbors, and get creative when it comes to housing, childcare, and early-learning opportunities.