Luzerne County Head Start, Inc. was recently awarded an increase of $877,752 in state money that will support services for an additional 72 Head Start children.  The Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP) grant provides state funding to Head Start programs to serve preschool-aged children who are living in families at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level.  This additional funding will increase the current number of state-funded Head Start slots from 194 children to 266 children and will allow LCHS to enroll more children in need of services who are currently on a waiting list.  This year, LCHS will also open two new Pre-K Counts classrooms in partnership with Kistler Elementary in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and Fairview Elementary in the Crestwood School District.  Additionally, a third Head Start classroom will open on the campus of Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke.

LCHS is a state and federal funded program that focuses on the whole family, making sure that parents receive help with a wide range of family needs including housing, employment and parenting education. Approximately 1,200 children from birth to age 5 and women who are pregnant are served by the agency in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties.