Head Start programs through SWCAP close starting Monday due to shutdown

The Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program will close its nine preschool Head Start classrooms on Monday as the federal government shutdown stretches into its fourth week. The closure affects 145 preschool-aged children in Iowa, Lafayette, Grant, Green and Richland counties. The Head Start program serves low-income families by providing access to childcare and food services. Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program will lose $3 million in federal funding when the grant supporting the program is not renewed Nov. 1, due to the shutdown. Without a federal budget, the government cannot fund the grant. The program closure will furlough 34 staff members. Even if the government shutdown ends soon, staff say it could take weeks to get the assistance approved and programs running again. Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program is one of 134 Head Start programs nationwide and one of two in Wisconsin directly affected by the shutdown.