$1.3M federal grant, $64K in state funding means more local children served

A nonprofit Columbus organization can serve 108 more children in the Chattahoochee Valley, thanks to a $1.3 million federal grant and $64,376 in new state funding.

The Early Head Start-Child Care grant will allow Enrichment Services Program Inc. to expand its services for infants and toddlers, adding 48 children to its Early Head Start program and 40 more through a partnership with the Childcare Network, a for-profit preschool provider, raising the number of program participants to 224.

The grant is for 54 months, but ESP doesn't know how much money it will receive in the succeeding years, ESP development coordinator Marquitta Williams told the Ledger-Enquirer in an interview Friday.

Through the Georgia Pre-K program, funded by the state's lottery to prepare 4-year-olds for kindergarten, ESP will be able to teach 20 more students at its Child Development Center, 2701 11th Ave., bringing the total to 149. Like the other centers that receive Georgia Pre-K funding, ESP will have to reapply each year for the funding, which pays for one pre-K class, the first for ESP, Williams said.

Regardless, the extra revenue is a huge boost to ESP's $13,521,138 budget, composed of 85 percent in federal grants, 12 percent in state contracts, 2.5 percent in donated supplies, services or facilities and 0.5 percent in private contributions.

ESP has been serving the area for 50 years. Its programs now comprise nearly 1,000 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years, at nine early learning centers in the Georgia counties of Muscogee, Chattahoochee, Clay, Quitman, Stewart and Talbot, plus Russell County in Alabama.

Belva Dorsey, chief executive officer of ESP, explained the impact of this news.

"The first months and years of life set the stage for lifelong development," she said in a news release. "Children cultivate 85 percent of their intellect, personality and skills by age 5. Early Head Start provides high-quality early learning opportunities for children from birth to 3. In our rural counties, early learning and child care services are limited. Some families may not be able to afford it. This grant supports working families by providing a full-day, full-year program so that children from families with low-income have the healthy and enriching early experiences they need to realize their full potential. Through our partnership with Childcare Network, we will be able to serve even more young children."

Scott Cotter, chief executive officer of the Childcare Network, said in the release that the company recognizes "the increasing burden that high cost of child care has on families. Therefore, we are continuously seeking alternative sources of funding to support our programs. We greatly appreciate ESP's decision and confidence in Childcare Network to allow us to provide Early Head Start services to our families."

Childcare Network will receive $350,000 to implement the Early Head Start program at its Floyd Road facility and the new one under construction on Farr Road, which is scheduled open by the end of this year, Williams said.

Early Head Start promotes healthy prenatal outcomes by providing comprehensive child development and family support services to infants and toddlers and their families, as well as low-income pregnant women. As part of President Barack Obama's Early Learning Initiative, the U.S. Office of the Administration for Children & Families has set aside $500 million for grants to enable Early Head Start programs to partner with childcare centers serving low-income families.

ESP is one of eight organizations in Georgia to receive this grant.

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published August 14, 2015 at 4:58 PM with the headline "$1.3M federal grant, $64K in state funding means more local children served ."