A total of 50 Head Start programs that serve 3,200 low-income preschoolers have shut down due to the halt in government operations.

According to a spokeswoman for Head Start, another 11 are set to close by Friday if funding isn’t restored.

Today marks the third day of the U.S. government shutdown which has resulted in 800,000 employees not getting paid.

From Wall Street Journal:

So far, the shutdown was only affecting a slice of the Head Start programs, with some programs in Florida, Connecticut, Alabama and Mississippi shuttered. Each program serves several Head Start centers. Head Start grantees receive their annual appropriations all at once, on the first of the month. The funding is spread out over the course of the year, with some funded on Jan. 1, some on Feb. 1, and so on.

Read more at Wall Street Journal

Twenty-three programs were to be funded on October 1.

A total of 18,796 children are affected by the lack of money.

Florida, Mississippi, Connecticut and Alabama are states primarily affected by the closings.

Thoughts on the program’s closing?

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