Leaders of dozens of Head Start preschools said they might need to close temporarily because they remain locked out of their federal funding, a problem that first surfaced last week during President Donald Trump’s aborted effort to freeze federal grants.

Some California programs still have not been able to access their payments, Cottrill said. She also said she has not been able to reach the Office of Head Start, which sits under the Department of Health and Human Services, for guidance.

Dozens of Head Start programs, which provide childcare and preschool education to low-income children, have been unable to access previously approved federal funding, putting some programs at risk of having to close their doors in the coming days,