LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative and Family and Children’s Place have been awarded nearly $18 million to operate Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Jefferson County, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told WDRB News Friday.
A spokesperson for the agency’s Administration for Children and Families said OVEC – a regional organization that operates Head Start schools in Bullitt, Oldham, Shelby, Henry, Gallatin, Owen, Spencer and Trimble counties – will receive $10.1 million annually and Family and Children’s Place – a group focused on preventing and helping victims of child abuse in Louisville and southern Indiana – will get $7.8 million per year to operate the federal preschool programs for low-income youth over the next five years.
For OVEC, the grant allows the organization to serve 594 low-income kids in Jefferson County, with enrollment set to begin in January. Of that total, 288 will be Early Head Start students while 306 will be in Head Start classrooms, according to a news release from OVEC.
OVEC had previously served 137 early childhood students in Jefferson County. The nearly 600 new Head Start and Early Head Start students boosts its total Head Start enrollment to 1,226, according to the release.
OVEC is also getting $7.6 million in start-up funding to purchase furniture and supplies and renovate facilities, the release says. The group expects to open seven sites located in Louisville neighborhoods with low kindergarten-readiness rates and few options for early childhood programs.
"We look forward to serving additional children in Jefferson County and the opportunity to change the trajectory of their lives," Leon Mooneyhan, chief executive officer of OVEC, said in a statement. "We are committed to providing quality services to the children and families we serve."
Pam Darnall, president and CEO of the Family and Children's Place, declined to discuss details of the grant award, citing a required 72-hour nondisclosure period after winning the funding.
Head Start and Early Head Start had previously been handled by Jefferson County Public Schools, but the Jefferson County Board of Education voted in May 2018 to relinquish its $14.9 million grant days before the Administration for Children and Families released a report that found issues related to student abuse and neglect persisted in the programs at JCPS despite previous findings and warnings from the agency.
Prior to giving up the grant, the agency informed JCPS that a single incident could jeopardize its standing as a Head Start grantee. Two months before the school board's decision to relinquish the grant, board members voted to apply for $15.7 million in Head Start and Early Head Start funding.
After giving up the grant to operate Head Start and Early Head Start locally, JCPS expanded its early childhood education offerings for 3- and 4-year-old children eligible for Head Start.
Budget records show the district ratcheted up preschool spending by $10.7 million last year after giving up the federal grants. Such spending drops by $733,221 in the current fiscal year, according to a working budget up for approval by the school board Tuesday.
Renee Murphy, communications director for JCPS, said the district plans to discuss what the Head Start grant awards will mean for JCPS moving forward.
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