DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Dozens of preschool classrooms across eastern Iowa are sitting empty this week after the federal government shutdown halted funding for Head Start programs on Nov. 1.

Head Start is a federal program run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides free early childhood education, nutrition, health screenings and family support services to low-income children and families.

Community Action of Eastern Iowa, which operates Head Start centers in Scott, Clinton and Muscatine counties, serves 294 children up to 5 years old.

“We are that safety net of resource for kids and families to have a safe place and a consistent routine, and healthy foods, and health supports and all sorts of other things that we can wrap around the kids and families, so we’r

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