(Madison County, NY – Aug. 2015) U.S. Representative Richard Hanna recently announced that the Department of Health and Human Services awarded a nearly $1.5 million grant to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County for local Head Start programs.
Madison County Head Start is a comprehensive preschool program providing educational services in all aspects of healthy development, including physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. The Madison County Head Start program serves 189 children and their families in three program options, five centers and one childcare partnership site. The exact grant total is $1,491,558.
The overall goal of the Head Start program is to prepare children to enter school ready to learn. “Head Start views school readiness as children possessing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning and life,” according to its website.
“Congratulations to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County on this tremendous grant,” Hanna said. “The programs Madison County Head Start provides are critical. Expanded access to early learning guarantees a reduction in spending on entitlements, welfare and incarceration. It also lowers obesity rates, helping to reduce healthcare costs. By focusing on early education we can begin to break the back of intergenerational poverty, producing more taxpayers and a more competitive America through a better-educated, growing middle class.”
There are several ways for parents to complete an application to enroll a child in Head Start. Parents can call the Head Start office to set up a meeting or they can stop by a Head Start location to complete an application. Applications are accepted all year.
Parents will need the following information to complete the application: the child’s birth certificate and personal income documentation. For information, call 315-697-9833 or 315-684-3001 ext. 121.
“Thanks to Head Start some our youngest residents in Madison County are prepared to enter kindergarten,” Hanna said. “Early education helps make our nation more competitive and ensure each child has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. One in four children starts their life in poverty. Through education, we can ensure their lives do not end in poverty.”