Alaska tribes get their yearly say on Head Start funding, against a backdrop of documented shortfalls

Tribal governments that run Head Start in Alaska have a formal chance next month to tell the federal government how the program's money should be divided, an annual consultation that carries real stakes for the Alaska Native children these programs serve.

Seventeen Head Start programs operate in Alaska, several run by tribal organizations including the Association of Village Council Presidents and the Bristol Bay Native Association. Together they received about $62 million in federal funding in 2023, and had to raise a further 20 percent from non-federal sources to match it.

How that money is allocated is the subject of the consultation, and it is not a settled question. Research has found that funding for tribal early-childhood programs is set by fixed formulas rather than the actual number of children served, leaving programs short of what it takes to serve their communities. A 2022 Bipartisan Policy Center report on child care funding for Alaska Native and American Indian families documented that gap, faulting arbitrary set-asides that do not track real need, exactly the terms tribal leaders can raise.

The consultation, required under the Head Start Act, brings federal officials together with tribal leaders running Head Start programs across the country, not Alaska alone. It is set for Sept. 16, held virtually, with tribal and Native nonprofit staff able to attend as observers. Tribal governments can also file written testimony through Oct. 6.