Roger Figueroa

Assistant Professor in Social and Behavioral Science in Nutrition

Roger Figueroa is an assistant professor in social and behavioral science in nutrition at Cornell University. He recently published an opinion piece about the role of Head Start programs in New York and how they impact diet-related chronic diseases in low-income and minoritized communities.

Figueroa says:

“An extended government shutdown period would be devastating for Head Start Programs. In New York, a Head Start Program in Warren County is at the brink of pausing programming due to inability of covering its program operating costs. This evidence-based early childhood education and public health program would be forced to reduce its capacity to provide high quality services for low-income eligible families because of its inability to compensate staff and afford daily operations.

“At this point, the long-term implications of these funding gaps are vast and unmeasurable. Head Start eligible families already face additional barriers to services like food assistance and healthcare with funding cuts to SNAP and Medicaid.

“This issue further exacerbates inequities to education, labor, and health for families in need as Head Start families would have to navigate truly unjust circumstances to survive these unprecedented times.”

Laura Bellows

Associate Professor, Nutritional Sciences

Laura Bellows is an associate professor of nutritional sciences who has researched Head Start programs and the impact of community-based interventions on public health outcomes, especially in children.

Bellows says:

“If the federal government stays closed on November 1, many Head Start programs could be forced to shut down, leaving thousands of children without early learning, meals, and care. Families could suddenly be left without childcare, staff would go without pay, and local businesses that work with programs could lose critical business and income. The ripple effects are likely to be felt across the communities.

“In New York alone, five Head Start grantees have grants that renew on November 1. Unless the shutdown ends before then, those programs will need to find other funding to stay open. Three of them say they can use agency funds to stay open for only about a week at a time. The other two will have to temporarily close unless they can find the money to keep going. It’s a dire situation – staff may leave for other jobs, and the Head Start workforce could be devastated in those communities.”