PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Many paychecks and programs across Pennsylvania could soon be on pause, as a looming government shutdown plays out in Washington. Failure to get a deal done will impact roughly four million federal workers.
Kara McFalls is the Acting Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Head Start Association, a federally funded education program
"This is an avoidable situation," McFalls said. "We don't want to put families through this."
She says programs in Pa. should see payments through October, since there are no programs with an October 1 start date. However, a prolonged shutdown could be problematic.
"Should it extend into November, we will have to pay close attention," McFalls said. "That's the point at which the likelihood of closed classrooms and furloughed staff increases drastically."
McFall says the programs turn to credit to continue providing service, which limits what they can do in the community.
"Their funds are put towards interest rather than the services that they would rather be putting their money towards, like serving kids and families," she said.
Head Start in Pennsylvania provides those services to more than 30,000 children across 61 programs through school districts, intermediate units, and social services like Community Progress Council in York.
The organization told FOX43 in a statement:
“No matter the length, a federal shutdown directly impacts the funding for many critical programs and services we deliver to low- and moderate-income families in York County, including our early childhood programs Early Head Start and Head Start. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and encourage Congress to come together on an agreement as quickly as possible.”
Adding to the uncertainty, Pennsylvania’s 2023-2024 fiscal budget is still incomplete, holding up additional grants for a handful of Head Start Programs.
"They have not yet received their Pre-K Counts funding. They have not received their payments," McFalls said. "We're still waiting to ascertain as to when those payments will be made."
McFalls says the organization wants to see an end to the stalemate sooner rather than later.
"We really hope that Congress comes together to do their job and come to an agreement as quickly as possible," she said.
Pennsylvania is home to more than 62,000 federal workers.