Head Start services in Fayette to expand

Daily Courier

October 23, 2009

Rep. John Murtha announced the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette Inc. has been awarded a $322,575 grant to increase the number of preschool-age children served by its Head Start program in Fayette County.

PIC receives federal funding to provide Head Start services to 534 preschool-age children and their families. This represents only 30 percent of the population of children younger than age 5 in Fayette who meet the eligibility guidelines for Head Start services. The expansion funding will enable PIC to serve an additional 36 children and families in the county.

PIC has been the grant administrator of the Head Start Program of Fayette County since 1994. Contracted by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Fayette County Head Start program provides a coordinated delivery of services to 3- to 5-year-old low-income children and their families. With 10 locations throughout Fayette County, the Head Start program promotes school readiness by enhancing physical and emotional development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, and social services to enrolled children and families. Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February. PIC obtained this funding through a competitive RFP process.

For more information on the Head Start program in Fayette County, call Sandra Hall at 724-430-4818.