Wilmington Head Start has offered childcare services in the city for decades. The organization received funding through a federal Head Start grant, which it has since relinquished for unknown reasons.
City Councilmember Zanthia Oliver sponsored a resolution last week requesting services continue uninterrupted for local families and children.
“It's a part of a broader network that supports over 1,400 preschool seats statewide, which represents approximately 20% of eligible Delaware preschools,” Oliver said. “… It was utilized by a lot of, you know, single parents and parents in general.”
Oliver added she thought it was only fitting for Councilmembers to voice their concerns to Delaware’s Congressional delegation and request these services remain available to the people who need them most.
“I read about this a couple times in the paper and on the news: federal government cut a lot of their funding,” Oliver said. “And it's a Head Start in the third district on Governor Prince, and I stopped by there and talked to a couple people. And they were very upset – that daycare has been there for years.”
In November 2025, many Head Start programs remained closed after the government shutdown ended because they did not have access to federal resources.
It’s not clear why Wilmington’s three Head Start locations are transitioning to an interim operator and relinquishing Head Start grant funding.
Oliver’s resolution requests more transparency regarding the transition away from the federal grant. It passed unanimously.
