Nita Norphlet-Thompson is the executive director of the Mississippi Head Start Association. She says she’s not particularly surprised at the news it could be eliminated.
“Let's remember, Project 2025 had been circulating prior to the last election and that was one of the proposals in that project,” she said. “So while it's disappointing that there's even a consideration of eliminating a program that next month will be celebrating its 60th anniversary, of supporting vulnerable children and families and communities, we knew this was a real possibility.”
Norphlet-Thompson says the program in Mississippi reflects the state’s communities.
“If you go down to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, you may see Vietnamese children in Head Start,” she said. “If you travel across the state, you're going to see Hispanic children in Head Start. You're going to see Black children, you're going to see White. The commonality is going to be income because the federal government requires us to consider income as one of the four primary indicators to be eligible for Head Start.”
According to the Mississippi Head Start Association, the program provides early childhood education programs and health screenings to 25,108 children of low-income families in Mississippi.
“They have a complete physical,” Norphlet-Thompson said. “We do hearing, we do vision, we do behavioral, we do nutritional. We do speech, language. Oftentimes, issues that children have developmentally, because they're identified early, we're able to remediate those.”
She says the termination of the program could prove to be economically damaging for the state.
“Just think if all of a sudden, and I'm rounding up, Mississippi gets right at $240 million federal dollars in Head Start,” Norphlet-Thompson said. “There are no state dollars in Head Start. So what would happen if we wake up tomorrow and that's $240 million that's no longer part of our economy?”
Directors of Head Start programs around the state are also concerned about their staff, Norphlet-Thompson says.
“We've got almost 5,000 employees across the state,” she said. “Right now, we can't tell them if they're going to have a job next year. That's added stress that we wish we could take away.”
Bridgette Jackson is the executive director of the Washington County Head Start.
“Without Head Start in our community, the children would not be school ready at that age,” she said. “Many parents would struggle to find work to support their families because of the children not being able to have a place to go during the day while they are working. Well, if the parents are not working, then you will have parents losing their jobs. They would be losing their homes and transportation.”
Jackson believes Head Start is necessary for the success of children, families and businesses in her community.
“It is not a handout,” she said. “It is resources that we provide. I look at it as the reason we have police officers and firefighters, because those are services that we need. That's how I look at Head Start. This is a service that our children and families need.”
It is unclear whether Congress will pass the potential recommendations from the administration for the fiscal 2026 budget.
