WASHINGTON — A group of U.S. senators that included the two from Michigan and one from Wisconsin have called on the federal Department of Health and Human Services to explain why five regional Head Start offices were closed across the country earlier this month.

The group sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., warning the closure of the Chicago office and four other sites April 1 will negatively affect early educational programs while also cutting jobs for dedicated educators.

“This announcement — which contained no guidance for grantees in impacted regions — has created confusion and chaos for Head Start centers, employees and families across various states, including those in Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin),” the letter states.

It was signed by Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, both D-Michigan; Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin; Sens. Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both D-Illinois; and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both D-Minnesota.

In a news release about the letter, Peters said the Head Start program serves in-need children and their families in rural and urban communities in Michigan. The state has 620 Head Start centers with capacity to serve more than 20,500 children ages 3 to 5 in Head Start programs and almost 7,000 in Early Head Start.

“Head Start centers run on tight budgets, and without a regional office, grantees will not be able to receive approval to draw down funds, forcing many to consider laying off staff, or even shuttering their doors,” the senators wrote.

They continued: “This will have devastating effects for children, families, child care workers, and the economy if children fail to receive care, child care staff lose their jobs, and parents cannot go to work.”

The letter concludes with nine questions about the future of Head Start, including when the five closed offices will be relocated to the seven offices that remain open, some indication on how HHS plans to guarantee that support for Head Start will not be affected and whether Head Start staff in the Chicago office will be given the option to relocate.

Head Start operates in all 50 states, helping families who are homeless or are in poverty, according to an Associated Press article. Parents who otherwise would not be able to afford child care rely on it when they work or go to school. Supporters say that underscores the importance of Head Start to the economy and at-risk children alike.

In the region, the Head Start program is offered by the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District in Kingsford, Norway, adjacent to North Dickinson County School in Felch Township and at Bates Elementary School near Iron River in Iron County.

Head Start took a hit in January when the Trump administration announced it would freeze federal grants, the primary funding for the early education program that serves more than half a million low-income children, the AP article states. Then came glitches with the funding website that forced nearly two dozen Head Start centers to close temporarily even after the funding freeze was aborted as an error.

Head Start was started six decades ago as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. While the early childhood program has enjoyed bipartisan support since then, some Republicans have emphasized its shortcomings and criticized efforts to increase funding, according to AP. And Project 2025, the policy blueprint created by the conservative Heritage Foundation, called for eliminating Head Start altogether, the article states.

But in mid-March, Kennedy visited a Head Start in Alexandria, Virginia, praising the program and its staff, according to the AP article.

“I had a very inspiring tour,” Kennedy said in a video on his department’s Instagram account. “They’re getting the kind of education and socialization that they need.”