FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Contact: ACF Press Office
(202) 401-9215
ACF Awards $2.2 Million to Promote Innovation and Improve Head Start
HHS’ Administration for Children and Families today announced Head Start Innovation and Improvement Project awards totaling $2,199,912. These grants are designed to address President Bush’s Good Start, Grow Smart early childhood initiative, which aims to close educational gaps between low-income children and their peers.
“These projects will provide support for children and families in the Head Start program,” said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., HHS assistant secretary for children and families. “With these awards, President Bush is helping more disadvantaged children prepare for success in school.”
Today’s grants include:
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$619,477 to the Children’s Hospital in Boston to address the needs of families struggling with the debilitating effects of parental depression. The project is a community partnership with Head Start/Early Head Start and the Harvard School of Education.
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$341,071 to the Missouri Department of Social Services to develop a statewide plan to address the effects of incarceration and poverty on young children and their families. It involves families with incarcerated fathers, or fathers on probation or parole, and their children enrolled in or eligible for Head Start/Early Head Start programs.
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$370,443 to the University of Washington to implement and evaluate an intervention model for early childhood dental care in the rural setting of four U.S. associated Pacific territories.
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$868,921 to the University of Cincinnati to provide a distance learning early childhood education AA degree which is tailored to the needs of Spanish-speaking Head Start staff. The program builds on the university’s successful English-language version and is the only one in the country to offer this model in Spanish.
The awards are part of the Bush Administration’s efforts to strengthen Head Start. The Head Start program is due for reauthorization for another five year period. Bills have been introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In his budget request for 2006, President Bush has requested $6.9 billion for Head Start.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news