July 12, 2018

Duckworth, Durbin Announce Nearly $6 Million for Southern Illinois Head Start Programs

 

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a total of $5,818,926 in federal funding today to help children from low-income families in Southern Illinois access Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This funding comes through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that allocates funding, technical assistance, strategic partnerships and more in order to help promote the social and economic well-being of children and families.

“I’m proud to support programs like Head Start that give children in Southern Illinois a fairer shot at reaching their full potential,” Duckworth said. “When we invest in childhood education and parental support services, we help provide children with the tools they need to succeed both in and outside of the classroom.”

“This federal funding helps ensure that children in Southern Illinois have the strong educational foundation they need to succeed from elementary school to college and beyond,” Durbin said. “The Head Start and Early Head Start programs are sources of countless success stories in Illinois and remain crucial for healthy development and school readiness.”

The following Southern Illinois provider will receive funding for Head Start and Early Head Start programs under this announcement:

  • Wabash Area Development, Inc. (Enfield, IL): $2,418,544

The following Southern Illinois provider will receive funding for Head Start programs under this announcement:

  • Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL): $3,400,382

The Wabash Area Development, Inc. Community Action Partnership serves families in Edwards, Gallatin, Hamilton, Saline, Wabash, Wayne and White counties. WADI provides home-based Early Head Start programs for children from birth to age 3, and home and center-based Head Start programs for children ages 3-5. Centers are located in Harrisburg, Mt. Carmel and Shawneetown. Southern Illinois University serves 336 children and their families in Jackson and Williamson counties. SIU provides half-day, extended-day and full-day programs for children ages 3-5 with centers in Carbondale, Marion and Murphysboro. Both programs focus on education, nutrition, socio-emotional development and physical and mental health.

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