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Head Start, Early Head Start and Migrant Head Start are comprehensive
child-development programs that serve children from birth to age 5,
pregnant women and their families. The programs strive to increase the
school readiness of young children in low-income families.
Among the
more than 7,000 children served annually by RCMA, approximately:
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1,700 are in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
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1,100 are in Head Start
·
500 are in Early Head Start
Key to the success of RCMA in preparing young children for public
school is its mission to hire staff and teachers from the communities
served. Most of our staff is bilingual, and many are former migrant
farm workers, including our Migrant Head Start program manager.
Head Start nationally evolved from a task force recommendation in
1964 for the development of a federally sponsored preschool program to
meet the needs of disadvantaged children, Head Start now offers
programs geared for children 3 to 5 years old. Early Head Start
provides programs for infants and toddlers, newborns to 3 years.
Responding to the unique season needs of migrant farm workers,
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start was created in 1969 and serves
newborns to 5 year olds.
Head
Start is a program within the Administration on Children, Youth and
Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which
awards grants to RCMA to provide these services. |
