Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel announced the awarding of a $4,384,363 Department of Health and Human Services grant for Head Start of Rockland, a Nyack-based institution which helps families with nutrition, health and family services and education.

Rep. Engel said, “This grant money will work with the Head Start and Early Start program, in a variety of programs to call for approximately 800 pre-school children and more than 80 infants and toddlers. The grant is the second installment of the money for the March 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010 period and is awarded on an annual basis.”

Among the program at Head Start of Rockland are:

Head Start and Early Head Start, federally funded programs providing preschool education, nutrition, health and family services for low income children ages birth to five and their families.

Early Head Start, an integrated program that provides families with Early Head Start services in the home setting. This program serves low income families who have children birth to 3 years old or women who are pregnant.

Head Start of Rockland also provides New York State approved special education services for preschool children, including evaluation and assessment, therapy and integrated classroom programming at sites in Nyack, Spring Valley and Haverstraw.