THOMPSON ANNOUCES MORE THAN $10 MILLION FOR CHILD START, INC.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today announced a $10,856,088 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant for Child Start, Inc. The funds will be used to provide Head Start and Early Head Start services to children and families throughout Napa and Solano Counties. The award is the first of a 5-year grant which Child Start, Inc. won through a competitive process established by HHS. Child Start, Inc. will receive a grant of the same amount for the next four years.

"Everyone, no matter who they are or where they're from, deserves an equal opportunity to work hard, get ahead and succeed," said Thompson. "The Head Start and Early Head Start services provided though Child Start, Inc. make sure our kids have a foundation for success that's rooted in education and strong, healthy development. I am proud to support Child Start, Inc. and this grant which will allow them to continue doing great work in our community."

"Ensuring we have the highest quality services for kids and families has always been at the heart of our mission," said Debbie Peralez, Executive Director of Child Start, Inc. "We know that families rely on Head Start for early care and preschool services because they want what any parent wants; to ensure that their children are prepared for school and have the skills they need to succeed. We look forward to continuing our work on their behalf."

Child Start, Inc. provides Head Start services to nearly 900 preschool children and Early Head Start services to more than 170 infants, toddlers and pregnant women.

Head Start is a federal program that promotes school readiness for children ages birth to 5 from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social and emotional development. Head Start programs provide comprehensive services to enrolled children and their families, which include health, nutrition, social services and other services determined to be necessary by family needs assessments, in addition to education and cognitive development services.

For every dollar spent on Head Start, our country realizes almost nine dollars in benefits through participants' increased earnings, decreased welfare dependence and other factors.

Head Start was founded as part of Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty in 1965. Since then, Head Start has grown from an eight-week demonstration project to include full day/year services and numerous program options. Head Start has served over 31 million children and their families in urban and rural areas in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories.

The reauthorization of the Head Start Act in 1994 made it possible to establish Early Head Start as a program to serve infants and toddlers under the age of 3 and pregnant women. Early Head Start provides early, continuous, intensive and comprehensive child development and family support services to low-income infants, toddlers, pregnant women and their families.

Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5^th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.

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