Children First

Head Start - Serving at-risk and economically vulnerable families with young children, Head Start is a program tailored for children three to five years of age which provides early education, health, dental, vision, hearing and developmental screenings, and coordination of appropriate therapies to address the individual child's needs. Services also include support for the entire family through family strengthening classes and individual family goal setting to achieve economic self sufficiency. 300 children were served during the 2022 calendar year (for the 2021-22 academic year - 199 children were served from Jan - June; 101 additional children were enrolled from August - December). This is an unduplicated count. Program of Excellence designation renewal obtained in 2022 designating Children First amongst the top 1% of Head Start / Early Head Start programs nationwide.

Early Childhood Education - The Early Childhood Education program is based on the Head Start/Early Head Start model This program is for children six weeks to five years of age. The children and families receive high quality services and are provided very significant scholarship support. In addition to the 11 full time Early Childhood Education clients, Children First served 57 children in extended before and after care programs on average each month. The summer learning program served 240 children (duplicated count), which includes children who were served during the school year in Head Start or Early Head Start programs in 2022.

Early Head Start - Also serving at-risk and economically vulnerable families with very young children, Early Head Start is a program designed for expectant families and their children, birth to three years of age. Following the comprehensive Head Start model, program provides children and families with a wide array of early childhood development, health, and support services. 332 children were served during the 2022 calendar year (for the 2021/22 academic year - 272 children were served from Jan - June; 60 additional children were enrolled from August - December). This is an unduplicated count. Program of Excellence designation renewal obtained in 2022.

Families First Initiative - This comprehensive family strengthening program offers a variety of services focusing on family strengthening, engagement and enrichment programs. $53,013 Other Program Services - $921,797 Families First Institute Summary of Classes and Activities January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022: Nurturing Dads Class - 1 series of classes, Job Skills Training Class - 2 series of classes, Calendar-based Budgeting - 2 series of classes, Positive Solutions For Families - 1 series of classes, Circle of Security Parenting - 1 series of classes, ESOL English for Speakers of Other languages - 6 series of classes