JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
When we spoke to Daniel Jaime last month, he was hoping for a miracle.
DANIEL JAIME: For a miracle that things change and that we can have the government to reopen and we can continue providing services.
SUMMERS: You see, Jaime oversees six Head Start centers in Florida that provide child care and education for the kids of migrant farmworkers. And he was hoping the government might reopen because the centers he manages rely on money from the federal government. But the shutdown has continued, and now the centers he manages have shut down too, part of a nationwide wave of temporary Head Start closures affecting more than 8,000 children and their families. Daniel Jaime joins me now from one of his empty Head Start centers in Dundee, Florida. Welcome.
JAIME: Yes. Good afternoon.
SUMMERS: Daniel, just start by telling us, if you can, how different are things today right now at that center compared to last week when it was fully operational?
JAIME: Well, it's a pretty sad sight to see. We had 76 children enrolled on Friday, and those 76 children are not currently enrolled today. So in a center where you would hear laughter, the smell of the food cooking in the kitchen, parents coming in and out, it's silent.
SUMMERS: Daniel, what have you been hearing from the families of those children this week? How have they been coping?
JAIME: Many of our families, you know, they have to find other options of where to leave their children if they're single parents because they still have to work. They still have other responsibilities. As some of the parents have mentioned, they love bringing their children to our centers. They know that they're getting the education and all of the services that they need, you know, because in the centers we have structure, we have education, activities. And so parents are aware of what's going on. So - but not in somebody else's home or other location that they may have to, out of necessity, you know, leave their child there.
SUMMERS: As we mentioned, these six Head Start centers that you oversee, they serve the families of migrant and seasonal farmworkers - hundreds of kids. If these workers, though, if they don't have options, if they are forced to stay home with the kids, how does that impact the local economy?
JAIME: Well, many of the local growers, they will not have workers to harvest their fruit. Currently, right now in season are tomatoes, and citrus industry also is gearing up for their season as well. So by not having workers available to harvest those fruits and vegetables, we won't see them probably in our markets. Locally, everybody suffers. Everybody suffers from the grower to the consumer to the worker. Even in this case here, even our children are going to suffer because we do not have our centers open where we can take care of them.
SUMMERS: Daniel, I understand that you yourself went to Head Start as a kid and that you also sent your own kids there too. So just on a personal note, give me an idea of what this program meant to you as a young person as well as as a parent.
JAIME: Honestly, it was a lifeline for me, for my wife and I, for my children that we could go to work and know that our children were safe. It also helped us to establish ourselves as well. For me, I was a high-school dropout because I had to, you know, work to take care of my own family - my mom, who was a single parent. And so at that time, once I had my children in the program, I was instilled the importance of education. I was blessed to be able to obtain my GED, go to college and most recently, a masters in educational leadership. So looking back, Head Start was one of my building blocks. It is one of my foundations that has given me the opportunity to be where I'm at today. And in my position here, it gives me an opportunity to give back to the families and the children and staff as well the opportunity that was once given to me.
SUMMERS: We should just note that the Head Start program, it serves low-income kids all across this country, and some of those centers, they're still open. They're hanging on, whether that's through savings or grants. But after spending two days with your centers' doors all closed, what message would you like to send to lawmakers about what's been happening?
JAIME: On Friday, we had 318 children enrolled in all six of our facilities. Those 318 children, I don't know where they're at. And so we need those children back in our facilities because they're our future of tomorrow. You know, early childhood education starts in our programs. They're our future lawmakers, future educators, future medical staff. You know, so for me, I think that to come to a consensus and hopefully, you know, keeping in mind our children, our families, our community.
SUMMERS: That's Daniel Jaime. He runs six Head Start centers in Florida for the East Coast Migrant Head Start Project. Daniel, thank you so much.
JAIME: You're very welcome. Thank you.
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