Congressman Salazar announces $1.7 million to expand early childhood learning programs in Southern Colorado

Head Start grows in Pueblo, La Plata, Montezuma, Archuleta, Otero, Crowley and Bent Counties

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congressman John Salazar announced that over $1.7 million in federal funding has been allocated to expand early childhood learning development in Pueblo, La Plata, Montezuma, Archuleta, Otero, Crowley and Bent Counties. Specifically, Otero Junior College Child Development Services has been allocated $1,035,610 and the Durango Tri-County Head Start has been allocated $698,759.

The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families, with a special focus on helping preschoolers develop the early reading and math skills they need to be successful in school. Early Head Start is a federally funded program that provides services to pregnant women, infants, and toddlers.

On this funding for Early Head Start programs in Southern Colorado, Congressman Salazar offered the following comment:

“Like many residents in rural Colorado, I grew up without much money. But my parents committed themselves to making sure that my brothers and sisters and I received a quality education. Head Start programs can help rural children get the kind of education they need to excel in the modern world. I am happy to have helped provide this funding, and I will continue to fight to help educate our children and employ our educators.”

Otero Junior College Child Development Services currently operates Early Head Start for 40 children and families in Crowley and Otero Counties through a home base model. With this funding, services will be expanded to Bent County to provide services to 24 children and families. Twenty will be served in a home base model and four children will be served through a family childcare option. Crowley and Otero Counties will be able to provide services to an additional four children. Services will also be provided to 42 children and families in Pueblo County through three different options that will include: Home Based services to 30 children, Center Based services to eight children and Family Childcare to four children.

Jamie Swartz, Director, Otero Junior College Child Development Services offered the following statement about the funding:

“I am very excited for the counties that we’re able to expand to. These were counties that didn’t have any Early Head Start options before and this has allowed us to offer other options that we weren’t able to do before.”

The Durango 4-C Council/Tri-County Head Start provides Head Start services for three to four-year-olds in three counties in Archuleta, La Plata, and Montezuma counties. Its Early Head Start services have been limited to La Plata county – and only for 28 children. For years, community assessments have shown that families throughout southwest Colorado are in critical need of child care services for children from birth to age three. Durango 4-C/Tri-County Head Start will use this funding to serve an additional 36 young children throughout the area through a combination of options, including establishing new centers or contracting with current child care providers to serve Early Head Start children. The Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide comprehensive child development, family support, and health services for children of low income families.

Charlotte Pirnat, Executive Director, Durango Tri-County Head Start offered the following comment on the funding:

“The really exciting thing for southwest Colorado is that it will create new slots for infant/toddler childcare. We’ve been seeing that need for at least ten years. We have been told that over 1200 agencies applied for Early Head Start grants in this national competition. Only 600 awards were expected to be funded, so we feel very fortunate to be receiving these funds for southwest Colorado families.”

Contact information for each of the individual Head Start programs below:

Jamie Swartz, Director, Otero Junior College Child Development (719) 384-3107

Charlotte Pirnat, Executive Director, Durango 4-C/Tri-County Head Start (970) 247-5960

###

Home | Press Room