Durbin Delivers Remarks As He Is Presented National Head Start Association Lifetime Achievement Award

Durbin Delivers Remarks As He Is Presented National Head Start Association Lifetime Achievement Award

In his remarks, Durbin underscored the importance of Head Start programs and denounced the Trump Administration's continued attacks on early childhood education

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today received the National Head Start Association's (NHSA) Robert E. Cooke Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his decades of support for the early childhood education program. In his remarks, Durbin spoke about the importance of early childhood development support and the integral role that Head Start plays in supporting children and families from underserved communities. Durbin denounced the Trump Administration's continued attacks on Head Start that have jeopardized the program's ability to support Illinois families.

"Head Start turns an investment into a child's first five years into a lifetime of rewards. Today, more than 40 million children, including children in underserved communities, have received crucial early childhood development support from Head Start, a program I remain committed to even as the Trump Administration targets our child care and education institutions," Durbin said. "It's an honor to receive this award from the National Head Start Association."

In January 2025, the Trump Administration temporarily froze funding for federal programs, including Head Start, until public outcry forced officials to quickly rescind the directive. In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Servies (HHS) announced it was closing the Chicago-based Region 5 Head Start office, which served Head Start grantees in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Shortly after the announcement, Durbin led six of his Midwestern colleagues in demanding answers from HHS about the closure and urging HHS to immediately reverse its decision.

A year into President Trump's second term, the Administration has continued to target child care programs beyond Head Start. Earlier this month, the Trump Administration froze a total of $10 billion in federal child care funding for the Democratic-led states of Illinois, Minnesota, New York, California, and Colorado. Illinois alone was shut out of $1 billion in federal funding. The Trump Administration offered a flimsy allegation of fraud as justification for the freeze, but Trump Administration officials have yet to produce evidence of program fraud in Illinois.

In May 2025, Durbin introduced the RETAIN Act, legislation that would create a fully refundable tax credit for teachers, paraprofessionals, school-based mental health providers, and school leaders in Title I schools, as well as for educators, program providers, and program directors in early childhood education programs funded by Head Start, Early Head Start, and Child Care and Development Block Grants. The tax credit would address the nationwide shortage of early childhood and K-12 teachers that disproportionally impacts students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and students from rural communities.

In December 2025, Durbin introduced the bipartisan RISE from Trauma Act with U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). The RISE from Trauma Act would dramatically increases funding for community-based efforts, including Head Start, to prevent and mitigate the impact of trauma, and it expands training and workforce development efforts to support health care, education, social services, first responders, and community leaders to foster resilience and deliver services to heal the impact of trauma.

Photos of Durbin delivering his remarks can be found here.

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