Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP) has received funding to expand early childhood education for infants and toddlers for families through the Early Head Start program.

GLCAP has been awarded a five-year Early Head Start Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) and Expansion grant, funded by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office of Head Start. The grant period began Sept. 1, 2024. First-year funding totals $4.1 million to serve 103 children in northwest Ohio. GLCAP will serve 55 children through the EHS-CCP program at partnering childcare facilities and family childcare locations in Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, and Wood counties. GLCAP will contract with delegate agency Hancock Hardin Wyandot Putnam (HHWP) Community Action Commission, which will serve 48 children in Hancock County. 

Early Head Start provides educational services for children ages birth-3 for income-eligible families. Services are provided at no cost and include full-day childcare, nutritious meals and snacks, health screenings and more. GLCAP’s EHS-CCP program has provided Early Head Start services with partnering childcare centers and family childcare providers for nearly ten years. Last year, GLCAP’s EHS-CCP program served 515 students. 

“The funding will allow us to enroll more families into our program as well as support HHWP’s efforts to begin offering Early Head Start programming in the Findlay-Hancock County area,” GLCAP President/CEO Ruthann House said. 

While HHWP Community Action Commission currently offers Head Start programming, the addition of Early Head Start services will be a new venture for the agency.

“HHWP has provided Head Start programs for preschool-aged children since 1966,” said HHWP President/CEO Josh Anderson. “This grant gives us the ability to expand early childhood education for families with infants and toddlers through Early Head Start. We are excited to be able to provide new opportunities for the families we serve.”

Details on GLCAP’s Early Head Start program are available at www.glcap.org, and information on HHWP’s Early Head Start services is available at www.hhwpcac.org.