Penfield Children’s Center, an early childhood education and development organization based in Milwaukee, has received more than $2.4 million in Head Start funding. This funding will support 132 Milwaukee children, including 112 children in Early Head Start center- and home-based programming, as well as 20 children in the Head Start center-based program, according to the
Penfield Children's Center, an early childhood education and development organization based in Milwaukee, has received more than $2.4 million in Head Start funding.
This funding will support 132 Milwaukee children, including 112 children in Early Head Start center- and home-based programming, as well as 20 children in the Head Start center-based program, according to the organization's Monday news release.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families funds Head Start programming, which supports the health and education of infants, toddlers and preschoolers from low-income families. Pregnant women, as well as children ages 5 years old or younger are eligible for Head Start services at no cost, according to the news release.
Milwaukee children "whose families meet the federal low-income guidelines or who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program public assistance services" are eligible, as well as children in the foster care system or who are experiencing homelessness, according to the news release.
[caption id="attachment_596171" align="alignleft" width="300"] Polina Makievsky, president and CEO of Penfield Children's Center. Photo submitted by Penfield Children's Center.[/caption]
“We know early experiences matter, and set the foundations for lifelong development,” said Polina Makievsky, president and CEO of Penfield Children's Center, in the news release. “Head Start programming will directly contribute to our mission of ensuring children have positive early experiences, helping all children realize their full potential.”
Penfield Children's Center Head Start programs will begin in early December, according to the news release.
“We exist in a childcare desert,” Makievsky said in the news release. “Children and families urgently need these programs and services, and we’re ready to meet them where they are.”