Family Services of Westchester in Port Chester has received $11 million in federal funding to support its Head Start programs for five years.
The award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was announced by U.S. Rep. Nita M. Lowey, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee who represents the 17th congressional district in Westchester and Rockland counties.
The nonprofit Family Services of Westchester has offered Head Start and Early Head Start programs in White Plains to children from low-income families since 2004. The programs emphasize cognitive and language development, social and emotional development, physical and mental health as well as parent involvement.
“Young children, especially from working families, deserve access to quality care and education to help them prepare for school, and Head Start and Early Head Start are critical to help achieve that outcome,” Lowey said in the announcement. She said she has fought in Congress for increased investments in early education because it “can do wonders to close and prevent achievement gaps.”
Restored after sequestration cuts last year, investments in early education increased by more than $1 billion in federal fiscal year 2014, according to Lowey.
