Kreation Place Childcare

🚨ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕨, ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕜.🚨

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭?

Head Start is a federally funded program that 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, health services, and family support to children from birth to age five. It was launched 𝟔𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 ago by President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of his War on Poverty, rooted 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝—𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝—𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬—𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞—𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. Children are most open, vulnerable, and impressionable during this time, and Head Start steps in when it matters most.

The Head Start program is 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 to make a lasting difference—supporting children’s development across all domains. That includes social and emotional growth, school readiness skills like early literacy and math, and access to health services such as vision screenings, dental checkups, developmental assessments, and nutritious meals.

But Head Start doesn’t stop with the child. 𝐈𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡—𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 on parenting, mental health, substance use recovery, career pathways, education goals, housing stability, and safety. Families set goals like earning a driver’s license, completing high school or college, or finding meaningful employment—and Head Start walks with them every step of the way.

And at the end of the day, all of this works because of the relationships Head Start creates. None of the services matter if children and families don’t trust the support they receive. That’s why 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭—𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝.

𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬. Priority is given to children experiencing housing instability, living in foster care, or facing other barriers to opportunity.

In 2024, the federal government invested approximately $12 billion into Head Start nationwide. In Pennsylvania alone, $395.6 million in federal funding supported programs across the state. That investment changes lives—but it still falls short.

The average Head Start teacher earns around $19 per hour, even though they are required to hold credentials—just like school district teachers. Many of our staff earn wages similar to the families we serve. Programs are struggling to retain qualified staff because there are easier jobs with higher pay—and this staffing crisis directly affects access and quality for children and families.
And the impact goes beyond the classroom.

When families lose access to reliable early childhood programs like Head Start, parents and caregivers often have no choice but to reduce their work hours—or leave the workforce entirely. That creates a ripple effect across the economy. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬—𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠.

🚨ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕨, ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕜.🚨

Advocates across the country are working to protect the funding we already have. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭, 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥.
📢 Check out our website for ways you can help protect Head Start today:
🔗 https://www.paheadstart.org/call-to-action

💬 Want to understand the real impact? Visit our Head Start Story Board to hear directly from families and staff. The numbers matter—but the stories are what bring it to life:
🔗 https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/OHdseSMh

🧠 Curious about the impact of stress or the importance of early childhood education on the developing brain? Watch these powerful short videos from Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child:
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IipVaPKnjRk
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=VNNsN9IJkws&t=23

📚 Explore the research on Head Start’s long-term outcomes:
🔗Head Start Facts and Impacts – NHSA https://nhsa.org/resource/facts-and-impacts/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJzSFxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHpiorumjnHU12BEx4WwVfFdIj_E0XqcioBhzEDBe2qjbAb1iDlbV784kjLV__aem_F19h55x4T6TbIm4Tc6b7og
🔗 Harvard Study by Deming (2009) https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/ddeming/files/deming_headstart_aejfinal.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR4GXS9JpyIrBDr9GvolGz7wwFsBl0mLTgxqGJAkUaQKhd42hsiPnRMriBwpqg_aem_kxxZ3wOP5_kfMiRazuJdLQ
🔗Garces, Thomas, and Currie – NBER Summary https://www.nber.org/digest/aug01/favorable-long-term-effects-head-start
🔗Bailey, Sun, and Timpe – UMich Study PDF https://websites.umich.edu/~baileymj/Bailey_Sun_Timpe.pdf?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR6NWZgZFFISy-ZBaa0pKcTHf0sWbzLNAqMxAfy3bf34uyKi3U4vYogMBHW-oQ_aem_fh5S-83Es2yDc48Qbh0bEA
🔗American Economic Review Article (2020) https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257%2Faer.20181801&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR7Jf_S7016hz8_CLja6B9VVxoBXsGGolDwIdPqRwEBXKHUIcJNeMDyMvcCzHw_aem_0hZxm5HiULOtFN41Yqhedg

Love this one! 😂🌮