ICYMI: Trump Admin Withholding Nearly $1 Billion in Funding for Head Start—Crunching Centers Nationwide and Forcing Devastating Closures
***PHOTOS and B-ROLL HERE***
Vancouver, WA — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited the YWCA Clark County and toured renovated classroom and outdoor space for the YWCA’s therapeutic pre-school program, which caters to children who have experienced trauma like abuse, neglect, and homelessness already in their early lives, and who need extra support to be able to thrive. Senator Murray secured $475,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) funding for the YWCA’s preschool program in the government funding bills she negotiated and passed last Congress as Chair of the Appropriations Committee. On her visit, Senator Murray also heard from YWCA staff about how the Trump administration’s funding freezes, cuts to federal funding, and Executive Order on DEI initiatives—as well as looming Republican cuts to Medicaid—are affecting their work helping domestic violence and sexual assault survivors.
The Clark County YWCA is a multi-service organization that works with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse; youth aging out of foster care; and preschool children who have experienced or are at risk for homelessness. Without adequate funding, critical services at the YWCA are at risk of being reduced or eliminated, and many survivors rely on Medicaid and would be seriously harmed by deep cuts to the program, which Republicans are trying to pass through Congress right now. Senator Murray was joined during her visit by YWCA CEO Brittini Lasseigne, Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Yarie, VP of Support & Prevention Programs Laurie Schacht, VP of Domestic Violence Programs Beth Landry, and VP of Communications and Marketing Chandra Chase.
“Federal investments like the one I was able to secure for the therapeutic preschool program here at the YWCA Clark County can make a real difference for kids and families at risk,” said Senator Murray. “Unfortunately, Trump’s unprecedented funding freezes and lack of communication with partners on the ground has created real chaos and uncertainty for places like the YWCA, who do really important work helping some of the most vulnerable in our communities—and have now been left without guidance on whether and when critical grant programs they rely on will open at all. And the Medicaid cuts Republicans are trying to force through Congress right now would also be devastating for the kids and survivors they serve who overwhelmingly rely on Medicaid for their health care. You can be sure I will take these stories with me back to the other Washington and keep fighting with everything I’ve got to end this chaos.”
“Thanks to Senator Murray, our community has a therapeutic preschool option for trauma informed care for our youngest survivors. The Occupational Therapy room symbolizes what’s possible when federal-local partnerships focus on uplifting entire communities. We’re not just addressing trauma—we’re preventing it by equipping families with resources to build safer, stronger futures together,” said Brittini Lasseigne, Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Clark County. “Senator Murray’s visit to YWCA Clark County’s Y’s Care Therapeutic Preschool program and our new Occupational Therapy room—spaces her federal investment helped build—shows what’s possible when leaders prioritize people over profits. These rooms are more than facilities; they’re proof that trauma-informed care works. We’re grateful for allies like Senator Murray, who continue to fight to ensure no child is left behind as we face new federal funding challenges that are both devastating and far-reaching.”
Senator Murray has long worked to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence, including authoring important provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) over the years. In the most recent reauthorization of VAWA, Senator Murray passed major provisions of her Survivors’ Access to Supportive Care Act (SASCA) to develop national standards of care for survivors of sexual assault, strengthen the sexual assault examiner workforce, and expand access to sexual assault examination services. Murray first introduced SASCA in 2016, after her constituent, Leah Griffin, shared her personal story of surviving a sexual assault and then getting turned away from a hospital when it was unable to administer a rape kit—ultimately contributing to prosecutors declining to file criminal charges. Senator Murray also leads the SAFE for Survivors Act, which would provide increased economic security for survivors of domestic violence. In the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding bill Senator Murray authored and passed into law as then-Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Murray secured $713 million—the highest funding level ever, for grants provided by the Office on Violence Against Women, a $13 million increase over the previous year support training for police officers and prosecutors, state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, rape prevention programs, lethality assessment and homicide reduction initiatives, domestic violence hotlines, women’s shelters, transitional housing, and rural support services.
Senator Murray has led the fight to tackle the child care crisis in Congress. She was instrumental in ensuring Congress took action when the COVID pandemic forced the child care sector to the brink of collapse. She authored the stabilization provisions in the American Rescue Plan alongside Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D, CT-03) and helped secure a historic $24 billion in stabilization funds and an additional $15 billion for CCDBG in the legislation. One third of child care providers who received a stabilization grant said their child care program would have closed permanently without the grants. Senator Murray introduced legislation and pushed to extend the stabilization grants—and has continued to push to deliver supplemental funding to address the child care crisis. In the Fiscal Year 2024 funding bills Senator Murray authored and passed, she successfully secured $1 billion more for our nation’s primary child care program and for Head Start—in addition to a variety of other steps across government programs to help families find quality, affordable child care. Critically, Senator Murray has introduced and continues working to build the support needed to pass her Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to tackle the child care crisis and ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need.
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