Read ACCORD statement, “returning to full operations”
By Andrew Harris
The order issued earlier this week by the White House that caused mass confusion over federal funding was officially withdrawn. Federally funded agencies and non-profit agencies which depend on federal dollars like ACCORD or Head Start were forced to halt operations yesterday amid the uncertainty.
21 states immediately filed legal challenge to the order and a federal judge quickly agreed to stopping the funding freeze until February 3. Today just after 2pm, the Trump administration issued an order to rescind the original memo: “to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage.”
After that, this statement was issued by the largely federally funded ACCORD Corporation:
ACCORD Corporation Announces temporary closing has ended, services will resume this week
Belmont, NY — ACCORD Corporation is pleased to announce that we are returning to full operations. We are sorry for the disruption of services and would like to thank everyone for bearing with us. All program services will resume on 1/30/25 with the exception of our Head Start classrooms which will reopen to children and families on 1/31/25, allowing us time needed to fully restock our classrooms to assure a safe and healthy environment for our enrolled children and families.
Lesley Gooch-Christman, ACCORD’s Executive Director, states, “Suspending any of our program services, even for a short period of time is not an action that we take lightly. We chose to assure our agency remains in service to our community now and in the future by protecting our financial status and maintaining open and transparent communication with everyone we serve and our community members. We would like to thank our partners for their support and apologize to everyone for our temporary reduction of services.”
