D&E Counseling Center prepares to run programs for kids

YOUNGSTOWN — D&E Counseling Center, the new provider for the Early Head Start and Head Start programs in Mahoning County, is scrambling to meet Monday’s start-up date for the Early Head Start and Sept. 8 beginning date for the regular Head Start program.

Head Start is a federal program that provides young children from low-income families with programming to prepare them for school; Early Head Start focuses on children from birth to age 3.

The programs, which include health, nutrition and social-services components, are designed to ensure the children’s healthy cognitive, social and emotional development.

As the county Head Start provider, D&E Counseling, a core agency of the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board, will receive an operating grant of $7,316,486 for school year 2015-16 and a one-time, new-provider start-up grant of $366,097.

The funds were awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which also named D&E as the program provider from among proposals submitted by other area organizations.

The former permanent Head Start/Early Head Start provider, the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, lost the program Aug. 1, 2014, after being disqualified from the Child and Adult Care Food Program food-service grant it used to feed Head Start participants.

For the complete story, read Saturday's Vindicator and Vindy.com