Staffing Reductions at Administration for Children & Families

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reduced the staff of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) by 40 percent in the first four months of 2025. HHS cut the staff of several of its Head Start regional offices and placed approximately 500 ACF employees on administrative leave. In An April 8, 2026, letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Senator Ron Wyden expressed concern about how the staffing cuts were “diminish[ing] [the] capacity to identify, respond to, and prevent trafficking and exploitation of children” in the Administration for Children and Families’ custody.