Overview

• An HHS email mistakenly sent to grant recipients included a spreadsheet marking over 150 child welfare research projects for termination, raising concerns about the future of Head Start and related programs.
• The spreadsheet, labeled as 'outdated and predecisional' by HHS, revealed that only 21 of 177 grants were marked for continued funding, while the rest were set to end or remain uncertain.
• The targeted grants, managed by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, fund studies on child care policy, foster care, child abuse prevention, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, impacting over 50 universities, nonprofits, and state agencies.
• This development follows deep budget cuts at HHS's Administration for Children and Families, which has already closed five regional offices, laid off hundreds of employees, and proposed eliminating Head Start funding entirely in its 2026 budget draft.
• Advocacy groups and former officials warn that terminating these studies would undermine evidence-based policymaking, destabilize critical safety-net services, and disproportionately harm low-income families.