Last month, I toured Washington D.C.’s Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center, one of 1,600 low-income preschool providers funded by the federal Head Start program. At lunchtime, well-behaved four- and five-year-olds dutifully served each other apples, cucumbers, and noodle soup. Elsewhere, a more mischievous group rolled on the floor while a teacher patiently tried to read aloud. Everything I saw suggested happy students, clean classrooms, and engaged teachers. Indeed, Mazique has become something of a poster child for Head Start.

Foot dragging in Washington has stalled the delivery of federally funded heating oil to the state’s low-income households, advocates say, jeopardizing families forced to already endure unseasonably frigid temperatures and the aftermath of an October snowstorm.

“This is critical because of the cold weather. ... Think about the babies and little children and elderly in a house with no heat,” said John Drew, head of Action for Boston Community Development Inc., which administers fuel assistance to 14,000 poor households. “I feel terrible. People depend on getting this delivery of oil so they can get some heat. Winter has come in and ravaged us.”

Drew said yesterday was the first time in 30 years local groups that administer fuel assistance were unable to roll out delivery trucks on Nov. 1.