WASHINGTON, D.C., February 23, 2026 — Today, more than 130 nonprofit organizations, research institutions, professional associations, and companies sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calling on the Department to immediately halt the restructuring and effective dismantlement of the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). More than 650 individual researchers, practitioners, and former government officials also signed the letter.
Representing a broad spectrum of the research, evaluation, human services, and child welfare communities, the signatories emphasized that OPRE has served administrations of both parties for decades as one of the federal government's most effective and respected evaluation units — producing rigorous, independent evidence on Head Start, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), child welfare services, and child care programs serving millions of American children and families.
The letter was also sent to the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Alex Adams, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought, and the chairs and ranking members of relevant congressional committees with oversight and appropriations jurisdiction.
"In less than 10 days, more than 130 organizations and hundreds of individuals came together to defend one of the federal government's most important evaluation offices," said Nick Hart, President and CEO of the Data Foundation. "The breadth of this coalition — from major research associations to Head Start programs to child welfare advocates — reflects just how widely OPRE's work touches American communities. We urge Secretary Kennedy and the Administration to halt this restructuring, consult with Congress and stakeholders, and allow ongoing research to reach completion. The American people deserve to know whether the programs serving their children and families are working."
On February 13, 2026, HHS notified OPRE staff and vendors of the decision to restructure the office, with changes expected to take effect within two weeks. The decision was made without meaningful consultation with Congress, the research community, or the state and local partners who rely on OPRE's evidence.
The letter urges Secretary Kennedy to:
- Immediately halt the restructuring and preserve OPRE's existing research and evaluation functions, staff, and vendor relationships during a meaningful review period.
- Engage in transparent consultation with Congress, the research community, state and local partners, and other stakeholders.
- Ensure that all ongoing research and evaluation projects are allowed to reach completion so that the American public receives the findings their tax dollars have funded.
- Uphold the evidence-building principles and institutional roles established by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, signed into law by President Trump in 2019.
The letter notes that congressional appropriations for FY 2026 largely supported OPRE's functions as written, raising serious questions about whether the restructuring is consistent with congressional intent.
Organizations signing the letter include:
- ABC Parenting Institute
- Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy
- Addiction Science Defense Network
- Advance Illinois
- AdvancED Consulting, LLC
- Allies for Children
- Alluvial Learning Strategies
- America Forward
- American Association for Public Opinion Research
- American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
- American Educational Research Association
- American Evaluation Association
- American Statistical Association
- Arete Data Labs
- Artichoke Evaluation, LLC
- Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
- Association of Population Centers
- Association of Public Data Users
- Aster Policy Analytics
- Beyond Measure, LLC
- Black Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development
- Bowman Performance Consulting
- California Budget & Policy Center
- Campbell-Kibler Associates, Inc.
- Center for Employment Studies
- Center for Law and Social Policy
- Center for Open Data Enterprise
- Center for the Study of Social Policy
- Child Health Partnership
- Children First (PA)
- Children's Aid
- Civic Leaders for Illinois Children
- Coalition for a Healthier Frederick County
- Coco Canary Consulting
- Collaborative Solutions Consulting
- Community Endeavors Foundation
- Community Research Solutions
- Consortium of Social Science Associations
- Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics
- Data Foundation
- Data Quality Campaign
- Data Works, Inc
- dataindex.us
- EDGE Partners
- Education Law Services
- Educational Methods Group, LLC
- Evaluation Plus
- Evaluation Thought Partners, LLC
- Families USA
- Family Connects International
- Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences
- First Up
- Foundation for Child Development
- Free Government Information
- Gingko Leaf Writing & Consulting
- Good Science Project
- Government Information Watch
- Gregson Consulting, LLC
- HealthConnect One
- Healthy Families America
- Help Me Grow National Center
- HIPPY US
- Horizons for Homeless Children
- ICPSR, The Data Consortium
- Illinois Action for Children
- Illinois Head Start Association
- Inclusion Matters by Shane's Inspiration
- InnovateEDU
- Institute for Child Success
- Intention 2 Impact, Inc.
- J. Solomon Consulting, LLC
- J. Torres Consulting
- JDF Research
- Kaptivate
- KEL Advising
- Kids Forward
- Lopez Education
- Lotus Early Learning
- Massachusetts Head Start Association
- MDC, Inc.
- Mighty Crow
- Minnesota Coalition for Family Home Visiting
- Minnesota Prenatal to Three Coalition
- Morton Insight Group
- National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics
- National Center for Learning Disabilities
- National Council on Family Relations
- National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
- National Partnership for Women & Families
- National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives
- National Women's Law Center Action Fund
- New Moms
- Next Interior
- Nicholas County Empowerment Corporation
- Nitamising Gimashkikinaan Our First Medicine
- NRHA Parents as Teachers
- ODW Consulting
- Ozark Area Community Action Corporation
- ParentChild+
- Parents as Teachers National Center
- Peace-Work
- Pennsylvania Child Care Association
- Pennsylvania Head Start Association
- PLACE, LLC
- Population Association of America
- Prevent Child Abuse America
- Prevent Child Abuse Illinois
- Program and Policy Insight, LLC
- Project Evident
- Public Advocacy for Kids
- Public Profit
- Research Allies for Lifelong Learning
- Results for America
- Seedlings to Sunflowers Non profit child care and family center
- Shared Services Leadership Coalition
- Smart Sitting
- Smart Start of Mecklenburg County
- Society for Prevention Research
- Society for Research in Child Development
- Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness
- Strategies for Children
- TEAM for West Virginia Children
- TERSHA LLC
- The Nanny Network, LLC
- Third Sector
- Thrive Nonprofit Solutions
- TLC Family Care
- TOOTRiS
- True North Evaluation
- Two Gems Consulting Services
- Two Rivers Head Start Agency
- UBUNTU Research and Evaluation
- UnidosUS
- Vehicles for Change
- Vincent Evaluation Consulting, LLC
- Voices for Utah Children.
- Washington Evaluators
- Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP
- Wisconsin Head Start Association
- ZERO TO THREE
About the Data Foundation
The Data Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that champions the use of open data and evidence-informed public policy to make society better for everyone. As a nonpartisan think tank, we conduct research, collaborative thought leadership, and advocacy programs that advance practical policies for the creation and use of accessible, trustworthy data. Our activities proactively address emerging data-related needs in the country with the goal of devising realistic solutions, accelerating policy coordination, and advancing innovation. The Data Foundation is recognized by Candid Guidestar with the Platinum Seal of Transparency and received 4-Stars from Charity Navigator. To learn more, visit www.datafoundation.org. (LEI: 254900I43CTC59RFW495)
Media Contact: J.B. Wogan 202-964-1120 media@datafoundation.org
