Cen-Clear Child Services, Inc. has provided the Head Start program for children age 3-5 in Centre and Clearfield Counties since 1980. In 1998 we began offering the Early Head Start program for pregnant women, infants, and toddlers. These quality early childhood education programs have a proven track record of promoting positive child development and better preparing children to succeed in school. However, the Head Start and Early Head Start programs have income eligibility limits established by the federal government. Each year, we must turn away children from families whose income is above those limits. Sadly, most of these families are not in a position to pay privately for high quality early education for their children.
Fortunately, this is changing in our state. The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning is creating additional opportunities for our youngest children to succeed. These opportunities include Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, Keystone STARS, and Child Care Works, all of which are leading to additional early learning opportunities with higher standards of programming.
If the proposed budget for early learning is approved, more opportunities will be created for children to attend high quality preschool programs. And, it is important to note, they will be created by working with existing childcare and preschool program providers, often in collaboration with one another and with local school districts. The result will be a much more seamless delivery system that avoids duplication of effort.
Research supports this strategy in Pennsylvania. A one-dollar investment in high quality early childhood education today will yield between six and eleven dollars in future savings to the community. In such uncertain times, these are truly wise investments in our children’s future.
Amy Wible
Child Development Coordinator
Cen-Clear Child Services, Inc.
