The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed a rule that would rescind and replace most of the current Head Start Program Performance Standards. It would weaken staffing, early learning, family engagement, health and developmental services, and other areas of program delivery. The Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (ECFC), the Foundation for Child Development, and a team of ECFC member volunteers have analyzed the proposed rule and drafted a research-based public comment grounded in the expertise philanthropy brings to this work. Our comment addresses the potential effects of the proposed changes on children and families, including Black children, children in immigrant families, children experiencing homelessness, and children with disabilities, as well as implications for philanthropy’s ability to support strong early childhood programs and systems.
Before submitting our comment, ECFC invited other funders to join us. Over 50 funders and philanthropic organizations signed on to ECFC’s public comment on the proposed changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards. The signers include foundations, funder collaboratives, health foundations, community foundations, and philanthropic infrastructure organizations from across the country. Their work spans child care, state pre-K, health, family economic security, and other areas that affect young children and families. ECFC developed the comment with the Foundation for Child Development and a team of ECFC member volunteers. THANK YOU to every organization that signed on and to the volunteers who helped make this possible.
[READ ECFC’S PHILANTHROPIC COMMENT]
What’s Happening
HHS’s proposed rule, Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs (RIN: 0970-AD30), would rescind and replace most of the current Head Start Program Performance Standards.
The proposed changes would affect how Head Start programs approach staffing, program operations, family engagement, health and developmental services, and nearly every other aspect of program delivery. HHS’s own analysis estimates approximately $2.2 billion in annual cost reductions under its primary scenario, with the largest effects tied to changes in staffing, service delivery, and administrative requirements.
Why ECFC Is Engaging
As a collaborative of funders focused on young children and families, ECFC brings together philanthropy to understand and respond to issues that shape children’s well-being.
Head Start’s role extends beyond the program itself. It is connected to child care, state pre-K systems, developmental services, health, family economic security, and community-based organizations. Many funders that do not support Head Start directly are connected to the broader early childhood systems in which Head Start operates.
ECFC’s public comment outlines serious concerns about what the proposed changes could mean for children, families, programs, and communities.
Take Action
The public comment period closed October 6, 2026.
[READ ECFC’S PHILANTHROPIC COMMENT]
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Funders Who Have Signed On
These funders and philanthropic organizations have added their names to ECFC’s public comment on the proposed changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
- A. D. Henderson Foundation
- Brady Education Foundation
- The Brindle Foundation
- California Community Foundation
- Care for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund
- Child Welfare Fund
- Commonwealth Children’s Fund
- Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut
- Connecticut Community Foundation
- Connecticut Early Childhood Funders Collaborative
- Couch Family Foundation
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- Dogwood Health Trust
- Emerging Bilingual Collaborative (EBC)
- Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund
- Foundation for Child Development
- The George Gund Foundation
- George B. Storer Foundation
- Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)
- Grantmakers In Health (GIH)
- Guilford County Partnership for Children
- Headwaters Foundation
- Health Foundation for Western & Central New York
- Heising-Simons Foundation
- Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation
- Imaginable Futures
- Irving Harris Foundation
- James B. McClatchy Foundation
- James H. Cummings Foundation
- Kornfeld Foundation
- LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment
- Liftoff Western New York
- Maher Charitable Foundation
- Maritz Family Foundation
- Massachusetts Early Childhood Funder Collaborative
- Mimi and Peter Haas Fund
- NY Funders Alliance
- Partners in Development Foundation
- Perigee Fund
- Philadelphia Health Partnership
- Potts Family Foundation
- Prosper Road Foundation
- Roots & Wings Foundation
- Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation
- Schumann Fund for New Jersey
- Schreiber Philanthropy
- Tipping Point Community
- Trust for Learning
- United Methodist Health Ministry Fund
- United Philanthropy Forum
- Universal Health Care Foundation of CT
- W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation
- William Penn Foundation
- WNY Women’s Foundation
- Women’s Fund of Rhode Island
Hear From Funders and Community Partners
In the coming weeks, ECFC will share perspectives from funders and community partners about how Head Start connects to their work and what the proposed changes could mean for the broader early childhood ecosystem.
More From ECFC
- Funder Briefing on Proposed Head Start Changes, including links to resources for submitting public comments and field experts and research related to proposed changes (Briefing Archive, August 11, 2026)
- What’s at Stake for Head Start: How Funders Can Support the Field During a Time of Change (Web Article, June 18, 2026)