WAYCROSS, Ga. — Starting November 3, hundreds of infants and young children in Southeast Georgia will no longer attend their usual school classes.

Facing a funding deficit, Action Pact has announced the suspension of its Head Start and Early Head Start services at all its locations. These programs are crucial for providing early education to children from disadvantaged or low-income backgrounds, equipping them with essential skills for academic success. The Head Start initiative caters to children from infancy up to five years old.

“We deeply regret the disruption this closure will cause to nearly 600 families we serve and are committed to reopening the program as soon as funding becomes available,” Action Pact stated in its announcement.

On social media, Executive Director Diane Rogers expressed that nearly 200 employees would be furloughed without pay during this closure. For families with working parents or guardians, alternative childcare solutions will be necessary as their children remain out of class.

Action Pact manages over a dozen Head Start/Early Head Start centers throughout Georgia, including locations in Ware, Brantley, Charlton, and Pierce counties.

More Head Start programs across the country are expected to close in just the latest blow to families in need. Nov. 1 also marked the end of SNAP funding for now. Although the Trump Administration has been ordered to restart funding, it could take time to get a plan finalized and money disbursed,

Some of the local effects have been more permanent. A Jacksonville school, the Jericho School for Children with Autism, cited the shutdown as the reason it closed its doors for good in October.