Howard County is making use of a $12.6 million federal grant to expand its early childhood program, Head Start, to include more children.
The county's Head Start program provider, the Community Action Council of Howard County, emphasized that the expansion will benefit more families beyond childcare. One mom, Lola Tanimowo, is very much aware of how much different the Head Start program can make.
Howard County's Head Start Program Expansion
She said that her daughter was able to get therapy through the Head Start program to address her speech delay. The mother added that her child was able to get into the program when she was only three years old, and now that she is in kindergarten, she no longer has any delays.
Tanimowo was spotted outside the CAC's Dasher Green Early Childhood Education Center on Wednesday to join the celebration of the new federal grant. The funding would run for five years and assist in giving infants, toddlers, and two-year-olds with year-round, full-day classes starting next school year, according to CBS News.
These kids will be served in the Bauder Education Center and the CLC. CAC president Tracy Broccolino said that the program has a "lifelong impact" on children and their families, adding that it promises a better future.
Tanimowo added that without the help of the Head Start program, she would not have been able to further her own education at Howard Community College. She said that there is no end to learning, which is something she tells her children every day.
$12.6 Million Funding
The CAC is Howard County's anti-poverty organization that has been the sole provider of the Head Start program in the region since 1979. For decades now, it has helped children aged three to five and their families by providing early education, assigning social workers, access to its food bank, and other services, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Broccolino revealed that since 2013, the organization has educated nearly 4,100 children across the county. She added that the community has also shown a need for infant and toddler care, which typically rivals the cost of housing.
The organization is currently going through the enrollment process and will soon open its doors to the younger students starting in late August. The hiring process for employees of the new service is also ongoing.
After this, the Early Head Start will become available for two-year-olds at the Bauder Education Center and at the Children's Learning Center at Howard Community College for infants, toddlers, and two-year-olds, as per MSN.
