Advocate

Head Start provides a system of comprehensive care for children and families from birth to age 5. 

Locally, HAPCAP's Head Start programs currently serve 254 children across Hocking, Athens, and Perry Counties.

Regional Offices Closed
On April 1, five of the ten regional Head Start offices, including the Chicago office, which oversaw our program, were closed.

Slowed Response Times & Funding Reimbursement
HAPCAP's Head Start programs are experiencing slow or no communication and extended wait times to receive reimbursement for regular operating funds.

Additionally, HAPCAP has lost pre-approved funding for a number of projects.

This uncertainty has put increased pressure on frontline staff and made it more difficult to recruit and retain staff for these vital positions. 

Head Start Talking Points from the Ohio Head Start Association

Federal LIHEAP Staff Termination
On April 1, 2025, the entire federal staff working on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) was terminated. This announcement has caused uncertainty about how additional funding awards will be administered.  

Current Administration's 'Skinny Budget'
The "skinny budget" is a preliminary, simplified version of the President’s budget proposal that outlines major funding priorities and proposed cuts. 

The skinny budget proposes eliminating the entire LIHEAP program. The elimination of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) would have a devastating impact on rural communities like ours, where in 2024, 6,617 low-income households turned to this support to keep their homes safe and warm. Rural communities face unique challenges, including higher energy burdens and limited access to services, making programs like LIHEAP essential for health, safety, and stability. 

HAPCAP operates the SE Ohio Foodbank, a Feeding America member. The SE Ohio Foodbank sources, stores, and provides food to over 60 food pantries and emergency food programs across 10 counties in Southeast Ohio. We also offer SNAP outreach and programs to increase access to emergency food items. 

Listen to Vince Hall, Chief Government Relations Officer at Feeding America, share the importance of food assistance on the Ohio News Network. 

Ohio 2026-2027 Biennial Budget

We are thankful to the Ohio House for its continued investment in Ohio’s state-funded food purchase programs. However, the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Operating Budget provides $7.5 million less per year than 2024-2025 funding levels for the Ohio Food Program and Agricultural Clearance Program. The funding in the current budget returns these critical programs back to 2019 funding levels, despite the significant increases in need for assistance and the cost of food. 

The SE Ohio Foodbank will do everything possible to stretch its resources. However, with fewer dollars and less food coming from the state, pantries will likely have fewer items to stock their shelves, and neighbors facing hunger may not be able to receive all the nutritious food they need. 

SNAP (aka food stamps / EBT)

The budget reconciliation bill signed into law on July 4, 2025 will significantly change the way we as a nation support our neighbors experiencing poverty and facing food insecurity. The measure includes expanded work requirements, now up to age 64, changes to the way monthly household expenses are calculated for eligibility, and other factors impacting an individuals ability to receive benefits. 

It also shifts both administrative and benefit costs from the federal government to the state government, likely totaling more than $315 million a year.  States that are unable to cover their cost share may have to make difficult decision that limit eligibility to help control program costs. 

Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)

In early March 2025, the USDA announced the cancellation of about $500 million dollars worth of TEFAP-CCC Bonus Food Purchases. CCC funds are used by the USDA to supplement federal commodities provided to foodbanks. 

Locally, at the SE Ohio Foodbank, this resulted in 163,000 pounds of expected food that will not be received.

Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA)
The USDA announced in March 2025 that 2025 LFPA contracts would be terminated. THE LFPA is a USDA program that supports local and regional producers. Those grants would have run from July 2025-June 2027. Current grant agreements ending on June 30, 2025, will be honored.

Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels is funded primarily by the Older Americans Act, Title III Senior Nutrition funding, and administered by the Dept of Health and Human Services. In late March, the administration announced it was closing half of the HHS regional offices. Then, in mid-April, a budget proposal from The Office of Budget Management was leaked that would cut $40 billion dollars from the Dept of Health and Human Services. The Older Americans Act Nutrition Services Title III Nutrition grants are not slated for elimination in this proposal. However, they were moved to the Administration for Children and Families and flat-funded.

Access to affordable housing helps families meet basic needs without being overburdened by rent. Stable housing creates stronger, healthier communities and supports local economies by reducing homelessness and increasing workforce participation.

Ohio Biennial Budget - Housing Trust Fund
Currently, there is a proposal in the state budget to reshape the Ohio Housing Trust Fund. The fund pools revenue from county recorder fees across the state, then redistributes that money to housing-related projects. Under the Ohio House’s proposed budget, counties would no longer be required to send their recorder fees to the state. This change would be a budget-neutral move. "They are not saving money by changing this; they are not making more money by changing this," said Becky Eddy, Integrated Services. 

Locally, many of Integrated Service’s projects would not have been possible under the House’s proposal. 

Ohio Housing Trust Fund - At a Glance

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health insurance to low-income individuals and families. In Ohio, 3 million people are covered by Medicaid- that is more than 1 in 4 residents. 

Budget Reconciliation

The largest spending reductions in the budget reconciliation package will come from Medicaid, with about $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending cut over ten years. New work requirements have been added to the program, which will require individuals receiving benefits to work, volunteer, or attend school at least 80 hours a month, or qualify for an exemption like providing care to a young child. In the past, introducing new administrative requirements like these has not led to better employment outcomes, but has reduced enrollment, as some of the most vulnerable members of our community have trouble filing the required paperwork. Lack of access to transportation can also make it difficult to fulfill these requirements. 

The bill also changes how medical costs are paid for, shifting more costs to the states and potentially to individuals receiving care. New limits to the Medicaid provider tax, which states charge, could mean that state budgets will pay more for the medical care of their enrolled residents. States are also now allowed to mandate co-payments of up to $35 for some services, depending on the enrollee's income. 

These changes could negatively impact not only individuals enrolled in Medicaid but also healthcare systems operating in rural regions. Many rural healthcare providers are already under financial strain. The combination of fewer insured patients and increased need for emergency services stemming from a lack of access to primary care could threaten providers' ability to operate in less populous regions. 

For some, public transit provides the only way to access essential services such as healthcare, employment, grocery stores, and social services. Transportation can be particularly challenging for rural residents living on lower incomes.

Federal Funding Share
Most rural transportation systems receive 40% to 80% of their operational funds from the Federal Transit Administration. In 2024, of HAPCAP's $5.9 million in transit operating funds, $3.6 million - or 62%- was federal.

We have not heard of any proposals to significantly reduce public transportation funds at this time. However, there have been reductions in the Federal Transit Administration staff. 

Birth & Marriage Rate Allocation Memo
The Secretary of Transportation has released a memo stating that federal transportation funds will be partly allocated based on states' birth and marriage rates. Ohio ranks 26th in birth rates and 29th in marriage rates. 

Locally, Athens County has some of the state's lowest birth and marriage rates, partly due to Ohio University's student population. 

Operating Grants Uncertainty
HAPCAP's Transportation operating grants are on the State Fiscal Year cycle. That means our current funding cycle ends June 30th, and the new cycle begins July 1st. As of now, we do not know what this next round of funding will look like.