Flint Beat: Rep. McDonald Rivet Vows To Fight for Flint Area Services Amid Federal Freeze
GENESEE TWP. Mich. — Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet held a press conference addressing the local impact of the recent freeze on federal funding Friday, Jan. 30, 2025 at the Thelma Buffy building.
On Monday, the Trump administration issued a memo that froze all grant and loan payments from federal agencies, including those for essential services like Head Start, Medicaid, meals on wheels and health clinics.
According to a press release from the Congresswoman’s office, Head Start and health care providers reported they were locked out of their federal portals, preventing access to payment systems for staffing and essential services.
The memo was later rescinded on Wednesday, Jan. 29 after widespread confusion.
“It’s unfrozen, but [the administration has] been very, very clear that these things are still under consideration for being cut,” McDonald Rivet said. “I’m here to say that, as your member of Congress, I will do everything in my power despite any further attacks on our essential services that mid-Michigan families really rely on.”
She was joined by community leaders who emphasized the potential impact of Head Start’s discontinuation.
Head Start is the largest and oldest nationwide federally-funded program that provides all-inclusive early childhood education and services to low-income families.
Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) offers free Head Start programming for children as young as 6 weeks old who live in Flint, Beecher and Carmen-Ainsworth school districts.
Melissa Ricketts, one of thousands of Head Start employees and mother of children who attend the program, spoke about how a loss of funding could affect her family.
“When arriving to work Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 I received the vague news that I may or may not have a job…if our funding were to be cut off…that would leave me without a job and many children without care as well,” Rickett said.
In order to get a new job, she would have to first find childcare and most likely be added an extensive waiting list.
According to McDonald Rivet, the State of Michigan has lost 40% of its capacity within the last 10 years and infant/toddler care has an average wait time of two years due to a workforce that is understaffed.
Principal of Pumpkin Patch Early Childhood Center Douglas Hibbs pointed out that within the Thelma Buffy building, there are programs that impact more than 400 families, with Head Start impacting more than fifty.
“Was I surprised? Absolutely…it blows my mind that we’re going to take money from education,” he said, noting the importance of early childhood development especially between birth and five years.
He emphasized the still-present fallout from the Flint Water Crisis and Covid-19, as well as the community’s struggles with crime and economic challenges, characterizing Head Start as a “vital” resource for Flint-based families.
“In Flint, Michigan…we’re an incredibly proud community that works hard. However, we all know that we have major impacts,” said Hibbs.
Moving forward, McDonald Rivet vowed to work with partners and stakeholders to fight this in the courts.
“This isn’t about cutting waste in the budget, which I’m all for…of course, we can make our government more efficient..but when you put programs like Head Start in the cross hairs for elimination, programs that have decades and decades of research that show that they work, then it’s gone too far,” she said. “These are real people who rely on these services…in order to live their lives, and we can’t have them in jeopardy.”
She asks that all organizations and individuals in the region who have been affected to contact her office as they continue to track local impact and advocate on their behalf.