As the Trump administration continues to gut the federal workforce and budget, a Reston contractor recently got an inadvertent head’s up that one of its research projects could be next on the chopping block.
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spreadsheet mistakenly emailed to grant recipients on April 30 listed over 150 projects to support child welfare that are apparently being considered for termination, including Child Care and Early Education Research Connections, the Associated Press reported.
An online library that provides access to journal articles, data reports, fact sheets and other child care-related information to researchers, policymakers and workers, Research Connections is run by the international consulting and technology services company ICF and based out of its corporate headquarters at Reston Station (1902 Reston Metro Plaza).
However, the project is funded by a 5-year, $3.95 million grant from the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF), according to Research Connections’ website.
The grant was first awarded to ICF by the health department’s Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in September 2020, so it’s already in its final year, per an HHS website that tracks the financial assistance it awards.
It’s unclear whether HHS could terminate the grant before its official expiration date or if ICF intends to seek other sources of funding to maintain the research library. The company didn’t respond to requests for comment from FFXnow.
ICF reported a 12.6% increase in overall revenue for the first quarter of 2025 on May 1, despite a 12.6% drop in federal government revenue that CEO and board chair John Wasson attributed to “changes in spending priorities by the new administration.”
An ACF official says the spreadsheet listing potential grant terminations was emailed by a contractor without authorization.
“ACF is committed to ensuring that government funds are used in alignment with Administration priorities and are in the best interest of the American people,” the official said. “We are aware that several grant recipients received an email on April 30th from a contractor that was not authorized to send this email. This email included information that was outdated and pre-decisional.”
According to the AP, the spreadsheet listed 177 grants awarded to universities, state agencies and nonprofits by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, which helps policymakers evaluate programs that assist low-income children and families.
While 21 grants were marked for continuation and a few had already ended, the remainder were targeted for termination. Potentially affected projects include studies of ways to improve the preschool program Head Start and planned child care centers in Atlanta and Maryland that would serve low-income Black and Hispanic families.
Also listed as set for cancellation were dozens of grants related to child care policy, child development, foster care, preventing child abuse and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program — which provides monthly cash assistance to families with children in need.
“Ending these projects without explanation not only wastes taxpayer dollars, it also threatens the evidence base behind key safety net programs,” Katie Hamm, who served as ACF’s deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development until January, said to the AP. “It’s alarming that grantees and contractors had to find out this way, through an accidental email, rather than a transparent process.”
If HHS follows through, the grant cancellations would further the Trump administration’s plan to overhaul the health department by firing workers and slashing funding. The ACF plans to close five regional offices, and former employees say its staff has shrunk from approximately 2,400 people in January to 1,500, as of early May.
A planned reorganization would fold the ACF into other parts of the health department, according to the AP.
A 2026 budget proposal released on May 2 would allocate $500 million to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s initiatives opposing vaccinations and food additives, while eliminating billions of dollars from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies.
This story includes reporting by Associated Press reporter Ryan J. Foley.
