COLUMBUS, Ohio - Thousands of Ohio Head Start children – about 3,700 – risk losing services if the federal government shutdown continues through Nov. 1.

The impact could mean working parents that rely on the programs suddenly will face a day care challenge.

Most of these programs are in rural areas, and the children represent nearly 14% of the 27,000 kids in Head Start in Ohio, said Julie Stone, executive director of the Ohio Head Start Association.

Head Start programs in Cuyahoga County, run by Step Forward and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Cleveland, are expected to remain open, as their grant cycles fall during different times of the year, Stone and spokeswomen for the agencies said.

For those facing closure, the potential shuttering of child care services will be among the f

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