The Questions Wisconsin Head Start Families Are Asking Deserve Real Answers
Ask any Head Start family in Wisconsin what’s weighing on them and child care is usually part of the conversation. Finding a spot. Affording it. Trusting it. For Head Start staff and program directors, it’s a different version of the same stress: keeping programs running, retaining good people, and staying sustainable in a system that makes it harder every year. These are kitchen table conversations happening in homes across Wisconsin. And this July, the Wisconsin Child Care Gubernatorial Forum 2026 is giving our community a chance to make sure the candidates for Governor have to answer for them.
These are kitchen table conversations happening in homes across Wisconsin. And this July, WHSA is proud to be part of something historic. For the first time, Wisconsin’s four child care and early education associations are joining together to make sure the candidates for Governor have to answer for them.
On Sunday, July 19th from 4 to 6 pm, a Child Care Gubernatorial Candidate Forum is coming to Madison. Co-sponsored by WHSA alongside WECA, WCCAA, and WFCCA, this unprecedented forum was organized by local child care owner and advocate Heather Murray of Art House Preschool. Head Start families, providers, and anyone who cares about the future of early childhood education in Wisconsin will have the chance to put their questions directly to the people asking for their vote.
Why WHSA Is Part of This
Wisconsin’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs are doing critical work. They serve some of our state’s most vulnerable children and families, providing not just early education but health screenings, family support services, and a foundation that research consistently shows changes life outcomes. But the challenges facing Head Start programs are real. Funding constraints, workforce shortages, and the ongoing struggle to maintain program quality while keeping up with the cost of care are issues that Wisconsin’s next Governor will need to understand and act on.
WHSA’s strategic priorities are clear: we are committed to advancing the wellbeing of Wisconsin’s youngest children, supporting the professionals who serve them, and advocating for the policies that make high quality early education possible for every family that needs it. This forum is a direct extension of that advocacy work. It is a chance to put child care and early education front and center in the 2026 Governor’s race, where it belongs.
Why This Moment Matters
Across Wisconsin, families are struggling to find child care that is affordable, accessible, and high quality. Head Start programs are working incredibly hard to meet that need, often serving children and families with the fewest resources and the most to gain from quality early education. These aren’t abstract policy problems. They are the real, daily pressures felt by Head Start staff, directors, and the families they serve in every corner of the state.
Child care is one of the defining kitchen table issues facing Wisconsin voters today. It deserves a serious place in the Governor’s race, and now it has one.
Who Should Attend
This forum is for Head Start and Early Head Start families, staff, and program directors across Wisconsin. It is also open to child care providers, parents, and anyone who believes that early childhood education should be a priority for Wisconsin’s next Governor. Whether you attend in person or watch online, your presence matters.
You can also submit a question ahead of time that you want the candidates to address during the forum.
Wisconsin’s Head Start community has always shown up for the children and families we serve. This July 19th, let’s show up for them in a different way. See you there.
