By Rinn O’Rourke | guest column
I serve as a home visitor for Early Head Start in western Wisconsin. In this role, I work with families in Eau Claire, Buffalo and Trempealeau counties —both in cities where services are more readily available, and in small towns where resources are scarce.
Every day, I meet parents and caregivers who are striving to give their children the best possible start in life. Some of these families have access to support like food pantries and housing assistance through Eau Claire County Human Services. Others live in rural areas where child care options are nonexistent, transportation is limited and families face isolation. My role is to walk alongside them — connecting families with resources, helping them set goals and ensuring their children have the chance to thrive.
As a home visitor, I provide early education activities that promote child development, support pregnant women before and after birth and link families with medical and dental care. I organize playgroups and socialization opportunities so parents and children can build community, reducing the sense of isolation many feel. The work is deeply rewarding, but it also reveals the very real struggles families face every day: homelessness, food insecurity, domestic violence, unaffordable housing and the absence of quality child care. These aren’t abstract issues; they are daily realities for families across western Wisconsin.
Head Start makes the difference for these families, and we need more, not less, investment in the program. The administration, however, has been chipping away at Head Start and currently is considering a flat funding model that would effectively cut Head Start’s budget in communities like mine.
This summer, I requested a meeting with my U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s office to share what families in our region are experiencing and to ask for his continued support of Head Start. After several email exchanges with his office, I was able to schedule an in-person meeting with Brian Westrate, one of his field representatives.
I invited a colleague, Rocio Ruiz, who serves as a Family Advocate at the Independence Head Start Center, to join me. Together, we sat down with Westrate for more than an hour to talk about the challenges our families face and the role Head Start plays in addressing them.
We shared stories of families who are struggling without stable housing, parents who can’t find affordable child care and rural communities where transportation and health care access are almost nonexistent. We spoke about the contributions of undocumented workers in our area — many employed in dairy and manufacturing — who face additional barriers to stability and opportunity.
Ruiz and I posed two very direct questions:
If Congress proposes flat funding that effectively cuts Head Start’s budget, will Van Orden oppose it?
If there is a proposal to eliminate Head Start entirely, will he defend the program?
Westrate took careful notes and assured us he would bring these questions to Van Orden. I followed up by email on Aug. 15 and even stopped by the Eau Claire office on Aug. 20 to leave a message, but as of today, I have received no response.
While disappointing, this silence only underscores the urgency of our advocacy. Families in western Wisconsin need leaders who will stand firmly behind programs like Head Start. Decades of research show that Head Start is one of the most effective federal programs in breaking cycles of poverty. It provides not just education, but also nutrition, health care and family support. Every dollar invested in Head Start pays dividends in healthier children, stronger families and more resilient communities.
Van Orden has supported Head Start in the past, and I hope he will continue to do so. But we cannot take that support for granted. Flat funding or budget cuts would mean fewer families served, fewer children prepared for kindergarten and fewer opportunities for parents to work and pursue stability.
As someone who walks into families’ homes every week, I can tell you: The need is great, and the stakes are high. Our children deserve more than political uncertainty. They deserve a Head Start.
Rinn O’Rourke is a home visitor with Early Head Start serving Eau Claire, Buffalo and Trempealeau counties. She works with low-income families to help them access child development, health and family support services.
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