YMCA Cape Cod has been awarded Head Start/Early Head Start grant funding, enabling the organization to meet the early education and childcare needs of families in Barnstable County.
YMCA Cape Cod has been providing early childhood education and care on Cape Cod for several decades, but this is the first time it will be a designated Head Start program provider.
The Region 1 Office of Head Start awarded two grants to YMCA Cape Cod. The organization will receive $1.2 million to provide 74 Head Start children (ages 3-4). It will also receive $1.16 million to provide Early Head Start children (ages 0-3 years). Both programs will open on December 1, 2020. This $2.4 million grant is an ongoing annual funding resource for the next five years totaling more than $12M over the period. Year one funding also includes $1.45 million for startup costs, $208,000 for COVID-19 pandemic support, and $33,000 for training and technical assistance.
YMCA Cape Cod Head Start programs will be offered in the following locations:
- Dennis and/or Yarmouth, at a location to be announced in the late fall/early winter
- Falmouth at the Falmouth Hospital campus on Ter Heun Drive
- Harwich on the Cape Cod Regional Tech High School campus on Pleasant Lake Ave.
- Harwich at the Harwich Elementary School on South Street
- Hyannis at the Hyannis Village Marketplace on Stevens Street opening in 2021
Children currently enrolled in Head Start programs elsewhere in Barnstable County will be transitioned smoothly to Y locations for opening Dec. 1. Open enrollment for all eligible families will begin in late fall.
“This is enormously exciting news for the Y,” said Stacie Peugh, CEO. “We are committed to quality early childhood education and care as a key way to deliver on our mission of youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. My deepest thanks to our Board, staff, and the many professionals supporting us through the Head Start application and start-up process. We are proud of our history in developing our community’s children to become thriving adults and look forward to welcoming Head Start children in December.”
