Latest news with #ChildDevelopmentAssociate
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Head Start families mark 60 years of program during Willmar, Minnesota, gathering
May 15---- When United Community Action Partnership recently gathered its Willmar Head Start students and families for a springtime event at Robbins Island, they also celebrated the childhood education program's 60th birthday coming up on May 18. "We do a lot of things (in Head Start). Our cornerstones are really in family engagement, health and nutrition that we provide. ... we care for children so that families can work. Close to 80% of our families are working families, and without us they wouldn't be able to do that," United Community Action Partnership Head Start director Mary Lockhart-Findling told the West Central Tribune during the family event. The describes the program as "centered around early learning and development, health and family well-being." Services are available at no cost for infants and children up to 5 years old in eligible families. Locally, United Community Action Partnership operates in locations across nine southwest Minnesota counties — including Kandiyohi, Meeker, Redwood and Renville — serving around 600 children in total. UCAP's largest program is Bright Light Head Start in Willmar. The Bright Light Head Start family event at Robbins Island featured activities including a scavenger hunt, a snack and a chance to learn about water safety from Kandiyohi County sheriff's officers. "This is a time for all families to come together with their children so they can meet with each other, play with each other and get to know each other," United Community Action Partnership family service worker Pat Olson said. The 60-year anniversary has coincided with concerns about the future of the program after reports in April that the White House was considering asking Congress to eliminate funding. At the Willmar event conducted April 30, Lockhart-Findling called for people to contact their elected representatives regarding the proposal. The official released since then does not mention the Head Start program. Nevertheless, the for program supporters to contact the president and members of Congress, calling the elimination of funding "catastrophic." According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Head Start began as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty." The program was announced in the Rose Garden on May 18, 1965. Originally, the program was an eight-week project. Since its founding, the program has served more than 38 million children, having grown from the original eight-week demonstration program to one which operates year-round. According to Lockhart-Findling, local Head Start offerings include dental clinics, help with obtaining physicals and immunizations, kindergarten prep and health and nutrition education. Alongside the services offered for children, early childhood programs for parents are provided to help educate family members. "We do a lot of training with our parents that want to and are interested in early childhood (care). We have a (Child Development Associate) program that helps them get qualified to do that," Lockhart-Findling said. "Our goal is to help the kids, and at the same time, work with families to help them get out of poverty."
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Siouxland schools receive part of $600K of grants for child care education credit
DES MOINES (KCAU) — Two Siouxland schools are part of nine in Iowa that will receive a total of nearly $600,000 in grants for educating students in family and consumer science programs while also getting credit. The Iowa Department of Education awarded the Credential to Child Care Careers grants Tuesday. The nine schools to receive the grants are as follows: Central Lyon Community School District Charles City Community School District Clear Creek Amana Community School District Des Moines Public Schools Harlan Community School District Iowa City Community School District Le Mars Community School District Marshalltown Community School District Woodbine Community School District Annual Faces of Siouxland Multicultural Fair coming up in March The grants help communities in achieving expanded access to child care while also supporting high school students in earning a Child Development Associate credential, per a release. The credential is nationally recognized and awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition. It requires coursework, field experience, and an assessment where the student is observed working with children. 'Parents need a child care solution that meets the demands of their busy lives and we need to grow and support strong local solutions,' Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement. 'I commend each of these nine district awardees for their forward-looking approach to prepare young Iowans to be career ready upon graduation, while also supporting local businesses in building their workforce pipeline.' School district awardees will receive curriculum that meets both requirements by Iowa Health and Human Services for employees of Iowa-licensed child care centers and the classroom requirements for a CDA credential. The school districts can also used the grants to cover related costs. The grants come after a successful pilot program last summer during the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. Those schools included Council Bluffs, MMCRU, Sioux Central, Starmont, and Woodbine school districts. Cook Park affordable housing project continues to moves forward 'Informed by the success of these programs last fall, we opened this opportunity statewide to support more school districts in strengthening pathways to in-demand child development careers for students while supporting working families,' said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow in a statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
