Congressman Amo Visits Local Head Start Provider Affected by Chaotic Funding Freeze
Children’s Friend was forced to scramble to make payroll after being locked out of federal payment portal
PROVIDENCE, RI – Today, Congressman Gabe Amo (RI-01) visited Children’s Friend, a Head Start provider and non-profit organization in Providence affected by this week’s federal funding freeze. On Monday, Children’s Friend attempted to withdraw federal funding to make payroll on Thursday. Due to the chaos and confusion caused by the blanket freeze on federal funding, Children’s Friend staff were locked out of the funding portal and were unable to draw on funds from their account.
“I went to Children’s Friend in Providence to hear firsthand how the chaos and confusion of the federal funding freeze affected their operations,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “Luckily, they were ultimately able to receive the transfer of funds that they needed — but the delay still left Head Start providers, Community Health Centers, and Meals on Wheels programs scrambling nationwide. I’ll continue to fight back against efforts to cut these essential programs to pay for tax cuts for the rich.”
“Federal funding helps to support our most vulnerable families and communities through programs at Children's Friend like WIC, Early Head Start, Head Start, Early Intervention and Home Visiting,” said David Caprio, President and CEO of Children’s Friend. “Today, this funding allows us to meet the basic needs of over 20,000 children and families in Rhode Island. Any disruption or cut to funding has the potential to have devastating impacts for children and our communities now and into the future.”
BACKGROUND
Congressman Amo visited the Head Start provider to meet with staff, learn more about their early childhood education programming, and highlight the impact of the funding freeze. Throughout the chaos and confusion, he has kept Rhode Islanders informed about how this decision would affect them. He also joined the coordinated response that successfully forced the Trump administration to partially reverse their disastrous actions.
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