"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.

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

The problem that first surfaced last week during President Donald Trump’s aborted effort to freeze federal grants.

Many groups that rely on a federal payment portal started experiencing problems accessing funds last week. HHS says "technical issues" are to blame and lag times continue.

But on Wednesday, Senator Schumer called on the United States Department of Health & Human Services to fix the payment system so that the Head Start programs can continue their work. According to Schumer, the freeze may "shutter" Head Start programs or force them to lay off staff.

As the White House paused federal grants and loans in a far-reaching executive order, early childhood education centers and states discovered Tuesday they could no longer access money they rely on to provide care for some of the nation’s neediest families and children.

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.