WOODBOURNE, NY — U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro (NY-19) slammed the “incompetent” leadership of Sullivan County Head Start, calling the preschool’s abrupt closure unprecedented not only in the county or state, but in the country.

“There is not a precedent we can point to where a local Head Start agency has, in quotes, ‘run out of money,’” Molinaro told Tim Bruno on Radio Catskill Friday.

Molinaro also criticized the sluggish response by Head Start’s federal regional office, which he said was “caught off guard” by the highly unusual circumstances.  (The program is expected to re-open in March; see related story, "Schumer: Head Start to return in about a month.")

These failures threw into distress nearly 400 children and their families, who had nothing to go by but the brief Facebook post on February 2 that announced the program was now closed, he said.

None of this is a reflection on the program’s excellent staff, Molinaro said. 

Bertha Williams, the executive director of Sullivan County Head Start, told the River Reporter on February 5 that school and government officials were in a huddle all that day to find a solution. She called the closure “a very bad situation that has caused upheaval in the entire county,” and said she was waiting for the regional office to “tell us what we need to do so that we can do it.” 

Late last week, John Liddle, the director of the county’s Department of Social Service, told county legislators that the local nonprofit has now relinquished its grant. This paves the way for a new provider to take over.

Regional office responds

Molinaro said he wants to find out the root causes of the sudden closure.

He said there’s a process in place to aid any Head Start experiencing operational difficulties or that is running short of money. It starts with immediately notifying the federal regional office. But, Molinaro said, the federal regional office was “not quick to respond to inquiries.”

On a Zoom call on February 6, Khari Garvin, director of the Office of Head Start at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S., finally gave an update. He said Sullivan’s leadership notified the Region 2 office with news of its closure “very late” the previous week.

“Earlier that same week or earlier last week, the program also made it known that they were running short of federal funding that was getting in the way of their ability to continue services,” Garvin said. “So I just want to emphasize that this decision to temporarily suspend services, to temporarily cease operation, was a decision that was made solely by Sullivan County Head Start’s program leadership, and is it not and was not an action that was either required or initiated by the office of Head Start. Now, the Office of Head Start is now considering next steps to ensure that the services for the children and families of Sullivan County can continue as quickly as possible.”

No shortage of funding

There was no hitch in the local nonprofit getting its money, which has deepened the mystery. Sullivan Head Start’s budget is $3.6 million a year, all from federal funding and covering expenses through March 31. Another $3.6 million was already appropriated for the following year, Molinaro said.

He said he’s always been a Head Start supporter because he understands the importance of its mission and its real-world successes. Providing children with high-quality care early in life is as much about supporting families as it is about teaching skills, he said.

Garvin, on the Zoom call, said, “There is no interest, there is no plan, to remove Head Start services or to remove Head Start funding from Sullivan County. The funding services will remain, and we will continue to work with Sullivan County Head Start inc. or any other entity that is willing and able to continue services in this community.”

Molinaro in a press release said he will hold mobile office hours from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 15, at the Woodbourne Fire Department, 355 Firehouse Road, Woodbourne, NY.

Sullivan County Head Start is headquartered in Woodbourne and runs three preschools in the county.

Head Start was established in 1965 to provide early childhood education and other services to low-income families. Most Head Start participants are three or four years old but, since 1995, infants, toddlers, and pregnant women have been served in Early Head Start programs. Sullivan County has both programs.

Editor's note: This story has been updated.

Sources: Radio Catskill (https://wjffradio.org): “Marc Molinaro responds to latest developments” and “Closure of Sullivan County Head Start leaves families struggling for childcare solutions.”