Head Start fosters a community that shares responsibility for the healthy development of children in economically disadvantaged families. It enhances social and cognitive development by providing educational, health, nutritional and social opportunities with a special focus on helping preschoolers build a strong foundation of early reading and math skills to help them achieve school success.
Early Head Start and Help Me Grow
The earliest years of a child’s life can lay a strong foundation for healthy growth and development that contributes to learning success in later stages of life.
Early Head Start serves expectant parents and children from birth to age three in home-based settings. It emphasizes parental involvement. Key areas of focus include healthcare, nutrition and childcare as well as social and physical development.
Help Me Grow is a program for expectant parents, newborns, infants and toddlers. Help Me Grow professionals help identify children with or at-risk for developmental delays or disabilities. The program provides health and developmental services so children can start school healthy and ready to learn. Early childhood professionals link families and children in a collaborative support network to meet individual needs.
Ohio’s Early Learning Initiative helps qualified families with children age three to five receive educational services that range from part-time preschool to full-day, year-round preschool and child care.
