COALITION RECEIVES EARLY HEAD START GRANT

The Children’s Coalition of Northeast Louisiana will take over operations of three Early Head Start sites in Ouachita Parish thanks to a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The department awarded the Children’s Coalition a five-year, $4.75-million grant to operate the three sites in Ouachita Parish. Two are located in Monroe with one in West Monroe.
Early Head Start is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with pregnant women, infants and toddlers up to age 3. The programs are designed to support the physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language development of each child, with a special emphasis on educating and supporting parents.
Children’s Coalition executive director Lynn Clark said Early Head Start has a holistic approach to child care and education that involves parenting, health, social and emotional development — aspects that are not always present in early childhood programs.
“This serves as a model for all ages, and we can use this as a jumping off point to grow our other programs in the Children’s Coalition,” Clark said.
As Louisiana seeks to align early childhood standards and requirements through Act 3, Clark said having first-hand knowledge of child care programs, public school programs, Head Start and Early Head Start is instrumental in the Children’s Coalition remaining the regional source for early childhood services.
University of Louisiana at Monroe will provide a major portion of the rent for the Filhiol Street site and supply interns in speech, physical and occupational therapy.
Other partners providing match funding for the grant include the United Way, Monroe Housing Authority and the city of West Monroe.
“Without these partners and their match we could not have pursued this grant, and without broad community and legislative support we wouldn’t have been able to take on this important program,” Clark said.
Early Childhood Director Maureen Gallagher said early childhood is one of four focus areas at the Children’s Coalition.
Implementing a program about life skills to pre-K students, coordinating all early childhood programs for Act 3, training and coaching child care teachers and making referrals for families looking for child care are all part of the Children’s Coalition’s early childhood educational efforts.
“Quality early childhood care and education fuels economic development. It gives tomorrow’s citizens the right start and allows families of the children to work or further their own education,” Gallagher.
Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, said early childhood legislation recently passed set the tone for revamping early child care education to ensure it is made available to all children.
“We are interested in our little people and their development because they are the future of our nation. If we don’t put our concerns on young people and push for good teachers we won’t have good outcomes. This is important for the well-being of our community,” Thompson said.
The Early Head Start program in Ouachita Parish was developed as a result of a community needs assessment conducted by the Children’s Coalition in 2000.

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