Come March 1, Head Start stands to lose more than $400 million of its nationwide funding.

For 20 toddlers hoping to enroll in pre-kindergarten programs run by Kids Central in southwest Virginia, it means no preschool. It also means that one teacher, two teaching aides, one bus driver and one cook will lose their jobs.

Some of the parents may have to quit jobs to watch their children, according to Darrell Edwards, executive director of the Norton, Va.-based program, which has 86 children on its waiting list.

The scenario will be repeated in thousands of early school programs for low income families, if Congress doesn't find a way to avert $85 billion in federal budget cuts that are slated to go into effect in less than two weeks. The cuts will stop 70,000 kids from entering Head Start programs around the country this year, according to the White House.

Ironically, the cuts will come just as President Obama wants to expand Head Start to more children in America.

"Every dollar we invest in high-quality early education can save more than seven dollars later on -- by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime," Obama said in his State of the Union address this month.

The federal government spends about $8 billion a year on Head Start, an early childhood development program for low income families. About 1 million children are enrolled in the program nationwide.

Families who have used the Head Start program say they have benefited greatly -- it has allowed parents to pursue careers, while giving children a leg up on their early education.

Eduardo Arroyo, who lost his job as a maintenance worker in 2008 in California's Merced County, enrolled two of his children. It allowed Arroyo to attend community college with a goal toward becoming a social worker.

His two-year-old daughter has attended an early Head Start program for a year. He says she talks more than his other children did at her age. His son, a Head Start graduate, is at the top of his kindergarten class.