Thursday, April 16, 2026

Head Start programs face funding squeeze

                

LOTS OF POSTS IGNORED BY BLOGGER.....

OR REMOVED ON THEIR WHIM!

ALL POSTS ARE AVAILABLE ON

MIDDLEBORO REVIEW AND SO ON

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE TRUTH OR FACTS!

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE FUND RAISERS AND DELETES

POSTS THAT INCLUDE FUNDRAISING THAT 'VIOLATES THEIR

UNDEFINED COMMUNITY STANDARDS SO ALL 'FUND RAISING'

IS DELETED - CONTRIBUTE AS YOU ARE INCLINED TO SUPPORT

IMPORTANT ISSUES! THESE ARE NOT SOLICITATIONS

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertise Where Massachusetts Decision-Makers Read

The Download Email Header

ENVIRO VOTE: The Senate passed its version of a $3.6 billion environmental bond bill on Wednesday – a package that would shore up vulnerable infrastructure and largely mirrors Gov. Healey’s proposed bill. Jordan Wolman has the details.  

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: South Hadley voters shot down a massive Prop 2½ override proposal, the state auditor asks the courts to stay out of a ballot question that would expand public records laws to the Legislature, and more communities bristle about data centers. Hallie Claflin, Chris Lisinski, Jordan Wolman report. 

 
 

April 16, 2026

By Jennifer Smith

When Rickencia Clerveaux McClean's son was around 18 months old, she noticed he wasn't speaking the way she expected. He pointed instead of asking. He struggled with food textures. McClean looked ahead at his future in public school with some dread. 

Fortunately, she said, there was an opening at Head Start at Action for Boston Community Development in Dorchester – the same program her younger sister had attended years before. Now her son is three, eating applesauce with his classmates and using his words. 

"I feel like ABCD helped him navigate first before he was able to go to a public school," said McClean, whose 2-year-old daughter is enrolled there, too. "That's the best pathway for any kid who's having a difficult time on their own." 

McClean, 27, is a student at Roxbury Community College working on the requisite classes for the nursing program. Head Start, she said, is what makes that possible.  

ADVERTISEMENT

National Grid 640x200

She is among the lucky ones these days. Massachusetts has lost 1,300 Head Start slots over the last three years, as the federal government has level-funded the program, and there is worry that more seats could be in jeopardy.  

The 60-year-old federally funded program for low-income families is navigating what advocates describe as a painful stretch of uncertainty.  

The Trump administration's fiscal year 2027 budget request, released earlier this month, includes $12.3 billion for Head Start nationally – the same level as the prior two fiscal years. While that has forced programs to reduce the number of families they serve, it is a retreat from earlier signals that the administration might seek to eliminate the program entirely. 

ADVERTISEMENT

640x200_UMMH

"It has been an incredibly unpredictable year, from both policy changes to funding instability," said Michelle Haimowitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Head Start Association, which advocates for Head Start programs in the state. "Flat funding itself is a pretty sharp cut to programs every year, given increasing costs from things like health care and rent and utilities, as well as the need to continue to raise wages for our educators." 

 

ROMNEYCARE: Twenty years after Massachusetts passed landmark health care reform legislation that gave the state the highest rate of insurance coverage in the country, the leading players behind the law gathered in the same storied meeting hall where the 2006 bill was signed to celebrate their uncommon achievement as the state faces tremendous threats to its effort to maintain near-universal coverage. Michael Jonas has more.  

OPINION: David Mancuso says Laurie Gagnon’s recent commentary promoting locally controlled “reciprocal accountability” as a framework for a new state graduation requirement is a “seductive argument,” but would leave the state’s most disadvantaged students behind. 

BEACON HILL: The Massachusetts House released its 2027 budget proposal, a slimmer pitch than the governor’s proposal. Speaker Ron Mariano touted it as a "strong budget," but added several qualifiers, noting that it was "for a very, very difficult fiscal year, in a truly challenging economic environment." (State House News Service via WBUR) 

CANNABIS: The owner of a Boston cannabis shop says “bureaucratic insanity” led to the store’s abrupt closure, criticizing the seizure of the company's bank account by the state Department of Revenue despite a substantial grant award and downplaying hundreds of thousands of dollars owed in back taxes and legal fees. (GBH News) 

IMMIGRATION: A $5 million state initiative launched last year is providing free legal aid to immigrants. Guaranteeing legal support to people during immigration proceedings has been complicated because of the civil process and an attorney shortage. (The New Bedford Light) 

TRANSPARENCY: A provision in Gov. Healey’s spending bill would block the public from viewing some birth records, death certificates, and marriage notices – tightening a Massachusetts law that has historically offered easy access to these uncertified records – citing fraud prevention and privacy. (The Boston Globe – paywall) 

LAW ENFORCEMENT: Identity theft charges have been dismissed against a US Customs and Border Protection agent who filed a police complaint – citing reports of Plymouth police ignoring violations by drivers who wrapped their vehicles in Christmas lights – while posing as the town manager. (Plymouth Independent) 

 
 
 
 
 
https://commonwealthbeacon.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cropped-30-Year-CWB-New.png

Published by MassINC




Important Message from MeidasTouch Founder

               

LOTS OF POSTS IGNORED BY BLOGGER.....

OR REMOVED ON THEIR WHIM!

ALL POSTS ARE AVAILABLE ON

MIDDLEBORO REVIEW AND SO ON

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE TRUTH OR FACTS!

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE FUND RAISERS AND DELETES

POSTS THAT INCLUDE FUNDRAISING THAT 'VIOLATES THEIR

UNDEFINED COMMUNITY STANDARDS SO ALL 'FUND RAISING'

IS DELETED - CONTRIBUTE AS YOU ARE INCLINED TO SUPPORT

IMPORTANT ISSUES! THESE ARE NOT SOLICITATIONS

Hey everybody, busy day ahead.

Congress is back in session, and you’re starting to see real fractures inside the Republican Party. Even Mike Johnson, MAGA Mike himself, is staring down the reality that this could be a historic midterm wipeout.

It’s not hard to see why.

Donald Trump is now polling worse than Richard Nixon was at the same point when Nixon resigned. That’s how bad things have gotten for Trump and for MAGA.

And it’s deserved.

You’ve got unlawful wars, economic instability, alliances being shredded, NATO weakened, and Trump acting like a sycophant to Vladimir Putin. Watching this play out…it’s honestly humiliating.

We were on the front lines yesterday, covering Trump again claiming a deal with Iran is right around the corner. “Everything’s amazing,” he says. It’s not.

Trump still thinks negotiation means threatening the other side’s existence. That’s not diplomacy. T the fastest way to guarantee failure. And if you actually listen to Iranian leadership, we’re nowhere close to a deal.

Meanwhile, his so-called blockade of the Persian Gulf doesn’t look like much of a blockade. Ships are getting through. Iran is openly mocking it. And while Trump blusters, Iran is strengthening ties, quietly, with countries like China and Japan.

Here’s something else that’s not getting enough attention, but it will: Saudi Arabia pulling back funding from LIV Golf.

This may seem random to the outside observer, but it’s not. They know where to hit Trump. Golf matters to him. And after all the promises, the security umbrella, the quid pro quo deals, the private jets, the investments—Trump didn’t deliver. So now they’re pulling back, and LIV is left hanging. But let’s zoom out. This is bigger than golf.

These countries—Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE—they’ve poured money into U.S. markets for decades. Bonds, real estate, private equity. That was part of the global system: the U.S. provides stability, and capital flows here. Trump didn’t understand that. He’s spent a lifetime bankrupting businesses and still doesn’t get how global leverage actually works. So if that money starts pulling back, that’s a much bigger story. Watch that closely.

And then there’s the World Cup.

This should be a massive moment for the United States. Something unifying, global, celebratory. Instead, we’re seeing early signs of a tourism pullback. Hotels slashing prices. Concerns growing.

Why?

Because when you have ICE crackdowns, threats, and instability, people don’t feel safe coming here. They just don’t. And Trump has managed to take something as universally positive as the World Cup and inject chaos into it the same way he does with everything

It’s almost hard to believe how much damage one person can do to the global standing of the United States.

Anyway, we’re covering all of it. Congressional hearings, breaking developments, everything you need to know—we’re on it throughout the day.

Make sure you’re subscribed. If you’ve been thinking about it, now’s the time.

Let’s keep growing. Let’s keep building.

Thanks, everybody.

Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



News Alert | ‘You Are Out of Touch’: Schumer Faces New Calls to Step Aside After Israel Weapons Vote

              

LOTS OF POSTS IGNORED BY BLOGGER.....

OR REMOVED ON THEIR WHIM!

ALL POSTS ARE AVAILABLE ON

MIDDLEBORO REVIEW AND SO ON

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE TRUTH OR FACTS!

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE FUND RAISERS AND DELETES

POSTS THAT INCLUDE FUNDRAISING THAT 'VIOLATES THEIR

UNDEFINED COMMUNITY STANDARDS SO ALL 'FUND RAISING'

IS DELETED - CONTRIBUTE AS YOU ARE INCLINED TO SUPPORT

IMPORTANT ISSUES! THESE ARE NOT SOLICITATIONS



May 12 Webinar: Practical Solutions for Today’s Energy Moment

             

LOTS OF POSTS IGNORED BY BLOGGER.....

OR REMOVED ON THEIR WHIM!

ALL POSTS ARE AVAILABLE ON

MIDDLEBORO REVIEW AND SO ON

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE TRUTH OR FACTS!

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE FUND RAISERS AND DELETES

POSTS THAT INCLUDE FUNDRAISING THAT 'VIOLATES THEIR

UNDEFINED COMMUNITY STANDARDS SO ALL 'FUND RAISING'

IS DELETED - CONTRIBUTE AS YOU ARE INCLINED TO SUPPORT

IMPORTANT ISSUES! THESE ARE NOT SOLICITATIONS

ENERGY COSTS ARE IN EVERYONE'S CONVERSATIONS AND YOU MIGHT 

CONSIDER EXPLORING THIS SITE AND SUBSCRIBING FOR SOLUTIONS!



How do Republicans plan to pass Trump’s deeply unpopular budget?

            

LOTS OF POSTS IGNORED BY BLOGGER.....

OR REMOVED ON THEIR WHIM!

ALL POSTS ARE AVAILABLE ON

MIDDLEBORO REVIEW AND SO ON

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE TRUTH OR FACTS!

BLOGGER DOESN'T LIKE FUND RAISERS AND DELETES

POSTS THAT INCLUDE FUNDRAISING THAT 'VIOLATES THEIR

UNDEFINED COMMUNITY STANDARDS SO ALL 'FUND RAISING'

IS DELETED - CONTRIBUTE AS YOU ARE INCLINED TO SUPPORT

IMPORTANT ISSUES! THESE ARE NOT SOLICITATIONS



Congressional Republicans have a narrow majority. So how do they plan on passing Trump’s budget priorities that include funding for ICE, Border Patrol, and the Pentagon while cutting critical human needs?

Come hear from our panel of experts this Thursday, April 16 at 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT at a timely webinar, Threats to Basic Needs Programs: Looming Budget Battles and the President’s Proposed Cuts.

Click here to RSVP for Thursday’s webinar.

RSVP

We’ll hear from speakers about Republicans’ plan to use reconciliation to jam through the president’s priorities―a mechanism that would allow the Senate to pass Trump’s budget with a simple majority instead of needing to clear a 60 vote threshold. They know that’s the only way they can possibly pass Trump’s unpopular agenda.

We’ll also discuss what you and our broader movement can do to fight back against these attacks on children and families, communities of color, our housing and health care needs, immigrants, and others struggling to make ends meet.

Featured speakers include:

  • Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League

  • Ellen Nissenbaum, Sr. Advisor, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

  • Sunjeev Bery, Campaign Director, People Over Pentagon

  • Jenny Rudisill, Sr. Vice President, Health Policy, First Focus on Children

  • Kim Johnson, Sr. Director of Policy, National Low Income Housing Coalition

If you can’t attend, please power our critical work, which is empowering activists and advocates alike as we fight back against calls for increased militarism at home and abroad―paid for by cuts to health care, nutrition, and more.

DONATE

I hope to see you there,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs



https://chn.org/

Coalition on Human Needs
2021 L Street, NW, Suite 101-219
Washington, DC 20036
Paid for by the Coalition on Human Needs


YOU DID THIS. We’re #3 on Audible!

                                                                                  LOTS OF POSTS IGNORED BY BLOGGER..... OR REMOVED ON THEIR ...