Fayette granted Early Head Start program

By Cheryl Keenan

OAK HILL — Keith Young knows Head Start. A Kimberly native, Young was a Head Start student at Powellton Elementary in his early childhood. He’s now served as director of the Fayette County program for nearly 14 years.

So when he expresses excitement over a new program to be offered in Fayette County, you can bet he knows whereof he speaks.

The Fayette County program was one of seven such programs in West Virginia to be chosen late last year to offer an Early Head Start program.

“With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the president awarded the Office of Head Start these pots of money, and they opened up a competitive grant program for Early Head Start. This is an exceptional opportunity for us. We feel very fortunate,” he said last week.

Through the county’s Early Head Start program, which will serve pregnant women and children birth to three years of age and which kicks off March 1, Young said 40 families will be served through the Scarbro and Page Head Start facilities.

“We are very honored and we look forward to meeting all the responsibilities of those families.”

The two-year grant will allow Fayette County Head Start, which currently serves children 3-5 years of age, to dramatically expand the services it offers.

Those eligible for the services include:

* Pregnant moms who are attending school;

* Moms who are attending school and have a child or children up to age 3;

* Children ages birth to three;

* Children with special needs under the age of three;

* Pregnant moms who are below the poverty level;

* Moms and children who are working with other agencies; and

* Homeless families with pregnant moms and/or children under three.

The program is designed to offer comprehensive services to those families that qualify in three different options.

First is a full-year/full-day center-based option. The Scarbro and Page centers each will have a class of eight children and will operate each weekday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Transportation will be provided to children over the age of one. Children under the age of one must be transported by a parent or guardian because state law prohibits the program from transporting anyone under the age of one. The two classrooms will give priority to families in which the mother is still in school or is working.

The second option is a home-based option which will serve two groups of four children and four pregnant women. Each participant will receive one home visit per week and two “socializations” (situations which offer the participants the opportunity to socialize together) each month. The socializations will be held at the Scarbro Center either on Mondays or Fridays and some transportation will be available.

The final option is a combination option in which eight children will go to the Scarbro Center on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those participants also will receive one home visit per month from the teacher. Transportation will be provided for children over one.

Young said the fact the program is comprehensive is exciting, allowing it to offer health and dental services, mental health services, nutrition, social services, family services, birthing and parenting classes and more.

“The focus is on building that positive relationship between parent and child. We’ll be able to let them know what is developmentally appropriate as the child grows. We believe the parent is the primary educator of their children and we want to be able to give them the tools they need,” he said.

“Research shows that brain development in children most rapidly occurs in the first couple years of life and this is going to give us an opportunity to work with parents to encourage better health for their children.”

Young said program organizers are hoping to reach young women who are pregnant and may still be in school. Not only would be program be an incredible resource for them, he says, it could help lower the county’s dropout rate.

“We want them to know there’s help out there,” he said.

Young said he recalls the day he and his wife brought home their first child and the daunting prospects that faced them.

“There is no manual when you bring home that first little one. There’s nothing that gets you reach to tell the difference between an ‘I’m hurting’ cry or an ‘I’m hungry’ cry.

“We want to work with these parents and provide them that kind of support.”

Applications for the program are being accepted through Feb. 17 at the Fayette County Child Development office at 102 Hunter Street in Oak Hill. For more information, call 304-465-5613.

— E-mail:

ckeenan@register-herald.com

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