HEAD START PLUS Preschool and day care join together

The new effort helps the working poor deal with the costly issue of child care.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Educators are urging low-income working families with children to consider a new state program that couples preschool instruction with day care.
The effort is called "Head Start Plus," and it's becoming available this summer to eligible families.
"We need to get the word out and make the community aware" of the program, Lenal Morello, family services coordinator for the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, said Monday.
The service center is one of several agencies in the Mahoning Valley through which Head Start Plus is offered.
For information
Families interested in participating can call the center at (330) 965-7828 to learn more about it, and, if necessary, be directed to the closest provider.
State-administered federal funding is making the program available for about 635 area preschoolers ages 3 to 5.
The service center has 269 slots for its Head Start Plus program. It has enrolled 60 youngsters and is processing applications for about 120 others.
There's no deadline for enrolling. Should a program be filled, families will be put on a waiting list.
Income guidelines
Qualifications for Head Start Plus are based partly on income. A single parent with one child can earn no more than $1,561 per month to qualify. That same family would pay $151 per month for the program.
Most families will pay, though it might be as little as $1 monthly.
Even with the payments, Head Start Plus is still a bargain, Morello said. She estimated that the monthly retail value of preschool enrollment and day care would be about $460.
Head Start Plus is based on the traditional Head Start preschool program, which is still being offered. The difference between the two efforts is that Head Start Plus offers day care at the same location where the children get their preschool instruction.
The arrangement is convenient for working parents who won't have to shuttle children to one place for preschool and to another for day care.
Head Start Plus will be held in a variety of locations throughout the area, include day-care centers that have met certain qualifications.
To help publicize the program, the service center is visiting adult-education centers and putting up posters and distributing fliers. The center also is calling on workplaces and speaking to employees.
Employers' support
Many employers are supportive of Head Start Plus because it simplifies day-care issues that sometimes trouble their employees, Morello said.
Like traditional Head Start, Head Start Plus aims to ensure that children are properly prepared for kindergarten by offering a variety of activities that they might not be getting at home.
Youngsters play with blocks, socialize with other children and learn to follow rules. They paint, draw and do sculpture. They're introduced to numbers and letters and are even schooled on such basics as how to handle a book.
"We have children who come to us who've never held a book or have never played with toys," said Dr. Debra Demyen, education coordinator for the service center's preschool programs.
leigh@vindy.com