January 12, 2018

Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $66 Million for City of Chicago Head Start Programs

 

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a $66,445,109 grant today to help children from low-income families in Chicago access Head Start and Early Head Start programs through the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system. This funding comes through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that allocates funding, technical assistance, strategic partnerships and more in order to help promote the social and economic well-being of children and families.

“I’m proud to support programs like Head Start that give children in Chicago a fairer shot at reaching their full potential,” Duckworth said. “When we invest in childhood education and parental support services, we help provide children with the tools they need to succeed both in and outside of the classroom.”

“This federal funding helps ensure that children in Chicago have the strong educational foundation they need to succeed from elementary school to college and beyond,” Durbin said. “The Head Start and Early Head Start programs are sources of countless success stories in Illinois and remain crucial for healthy development and school readiness.”

Children between the ages of three and four are eligible to participate in Chicago Public Schools’ half-day and full-day Head Start programs, which focus on education, nutrition, socio-emotional development and physical and mental health.