"We can't set a bunch of money aside. I wish we could, I wish we had a secret stash, but we don't," said Kelly Neidel, executive director of Two Rivers Head Start in Elgin.

Some Head Start programs are struggling to continue services as funding delays hit. The delays come after Trump walked back on an effort to freeze federal grants.

Dozens of Head Start programs, which provide childcare and preschool education to low-income children, have been unable to access previously approved federal funding, putting some programs at risk of having to close their doors in the coming days,

Even after the Trump Administration’s recent federal funding freeze was rescinded, dozens of Head Start programs across the country, including some in Illinois, report ongoing issues drawing down approved grant funds.

Even though the White House clarified that the freeze wouldn't affect Head Start programs and rescinded the order on Jan. 29, several organizations are still unable to access funds due to website glitches and are scrambling to keep their doors open for families who rely on Head Start's free childcare services.

Despite a federal judge blocking the Trump administration's federal funding freeze, critical programs say they cannot access their funds. National Head Start Association Deputy Director Tommy Sheridan joins Katy Tur to share the impact the move is having on childcare programs.

Childcare center employees told BI that they're locked out of their federal grants, leaving them unable to pay staff and other bills.

Of the 39 Head Start programs in the state, at least six were still unable to access federal funds as of Thursday.