Tuesday, NOVEMBER 4, 2025 |

Photo – Admin building for Carbon County Child Development – by Matt Copeland Bigfoot99

The ongoing federal government shutdown may jeopardize access to childcare for many Carbon County residents.

As the government shutdown enters its second month, many individuals who rely on federal subsidies such as SNAP have found that assistance payments are no longer being processed. Meanwhile, organizations dependent on federal grants face the risk of closure if the government does not reopen soon.

One organization that may be forced to shut down is the Carbon County Child Development Program, the state’s longest-running federally funded early childhood education center. Executive Director Mindy Monson-Greene explained that the preschool offers much more than a simple babysitting service. Thanks to federal support, Monson-Greene said the Child Development Program’s Head Start initiative provides a wide range of medical and developmental services at no cost, support that many Carbon County residents rely on.

Executive Director Monson-Greene said children in foster care, those receiving SSI, from low-income households, or covered under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which ensures equal access to public education for homeless youth, all qualify for free childcare through the Head Start program. The preschool relies on annual federal grant funding to supplement its in-kind donations. However, with the federal employees who authorize those grants currently furloughed due to the ongoing government shutdown, the future of the Carbon County Child Development Program remains uncertain.

In the meantime, generous donations from the local community will allow the Carbon County Child Development Program to continue operating Head Start through the end of the year. Monson-Greene said she hopes the government shutdown ends before that time, or the program will end.

Carbon County Child Development Program Parent Policy Council Vice President Brenda Apodaca has a daughter enrolled in the Head Start program. Apodaca said she relies on meals served at the Rawlins facility to supplement her weekly food budget.

If the Head Start program ends, Apodaca said she would have no choice but to quit her job to care for her daughter.

LeAnn Spilski, a Child Development Program employee and parent of a former student, said the no-cost preschool helps working families redirect their income toward other essential needs.

Sixty Carbon County families rely on the Rawlins and Saratoga Head Start programs for their childcare needs. Project Reach, a local developmental preschool, also depends on Head Start to provide specialists who support its 23 students’ Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs. Executive Director Monson-Greene said the program’s closure would trigger a domino effect throughout the community.

Monson-Greene said the best way to support Child Development Programs across Wyoming is to contact federal representatives, including President Donald Trump, and explain how the government shutdown is affecting you and those around you.

Monson-Greene thanked the City of Rawlins and HF Sinclair for their ongoing financial support of the Carbon County Child Development Program. Still, without federal grants, the Executive Director said the facility cannot continue operating, as rising costs have made it unsustainable to run on donations alone.

Carbon County Child Development Program Executive Director Mindy Monson-Greene encouraged the public to reach out to their federal representatives and urge them to end the government shutdown before residents lose access to federally funded childcare. Without restored funding, Monson-Greene said, the Head Start program is set to end on January 1st, 2026.

For more information about the Carbon County Child Development Program or how you can help, call Executive Director Mindy Monson-Green at 324-4951 or email mmonson@cccdp.net

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