BALTIMORE, Md. (August 16, 2018)—Today, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen joined community partners  to celebrate the closing exercises of Baltimore City’s newest Early Head Start Program in the City’s Sandtown-Winchester Neighborhood. Twenty-eight children participated in today’s program, including seven who transitioned from Early Head Start to Head Start. 

Early Head Start, which has served 130 individuals, provides early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services to low-income infants and toddlers and their families, and pregnant women and their families completely free of cost to families who meet eligibility guidelines.

“We are all fortunate to have an experienced and dedicated Early Head Start team so committed to not only the children of Baltimore, but to their parents and caretakers as well,”  said Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. “The staff’s work, along with the dedication of the our Early Head Start parents, foster grandparents and extended families, are vital as together, we do everything in our power to prepare our babies to be contributing members of our community and future leaders of our great City.”  

Head Start and Early Head Start programs have been shown to support the mental, social, and emotional development of children from birth to age five.

Participation in Head Start or Early Head Start Programs have been proven to improve children’s health outcomes, including significantly decreased mortality rates for five to nine year-old children, decreased childhood obesity rates, and decreased smoking rates during adulthood. In addition to education services, programs provide children and their families with health, nutrition, social, and other services.

“Early Head Start is not only critical to preparing that our children enter school ready to learn, but also for ensuring that families have access to high quality education, health, and family services,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. “As a new mother, I know how hard parenting is, and we must do everything we can to support families to do what is best for their children.  Together we can help all Baltimoreans live longer, healthier lives, and that starts with helping our babies to achieve their full potentials.”