Manchin, Rockefeller, Rahall Announce Funding for Southern West Virginia Head Start Program
BECKLEY, W.Va. – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller, along with Rep. Nick Rahall (all D-W.Va.), Friday announced Head Start funding for Community Action of South Eastern West Virginia (CASE WV) in Bluefield.
“In West Virginia, taking care of our children – and ensuring that we do everything in our power to help them achieve a brighter future – is a top priority,” Manchin said. “That’s why it is critical to invest in educational opportunities like Head Start. With grants like these, our kids in West Virginia will receive the care, education and services they need to compete in the global marketplace. This is great news for our children and families in Bluefield.”
“West Virginia is blessed to have so many local community programs geared toward early education and child development, along with caring educators and parents to run them and positively affect the lives of our children,” said Rahall. “I fully intend to keep pushing for these critical investments in early childhood education, which provide so many of our children with opportunities they otherwise would not have to achieve their full potential.”
“We have a moral obligation to provide all children with a foundation for a bright future, including giving them access to necessary instruction and skill-building that will help them succeed once they’re in a classroom setting. For so many of our underserved families, Head Start is a proven, comprehensive way to give our youngest West Virginians and their families access to these educational supports early in life, as well as other vital health and nutritional resources,” Rockefeller said. “As a long-time supporter of Head Start here in West Virginia, I’m very pleased CASE WV’s Head Start program has been awarded this significant funding boost. The grant award will certainly help make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in southern West Virginia.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $3.1 million to CASE WV to continue its Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which serve pre-school aged children in Mercer and Summers Counties.
Head Start is a national development program for low-income children that prepare them for school from a young age. The HHS program provides comprehensive education activities in classrooms, as well as other services such as social, nutritional, health and mental health, and transportation for children and their families.
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