Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and the state legislature moved on Friday to advance supplemental funds allocated for Head Start programs in the state, ahead of a Nov. 1 funding deadline imperiled by the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Head Start programs in Massachusetts support more than 11,000 children each year, with about 4,000 people working in those programs. The state’s fiscal 2026 budget allocated $20 million in supplemental grants for 28 Head Start and Early Head Start programs, money that will now go to keeping the programs afloat through the end of November.

The programs are typically funded by the federal government on a staggered grant cycle. But with the government shutdown, the programs were not going to receive the grants arriving on Nov. 1

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