A Head Start bus is being replaced after 15 years on the road and more than 123,000 miles traveled thanks to federal stimulus dollars.
The Indiana Administration of Children and Families notified Head Start programs across the state last summer that federal stimulus dollars were being made available to local programs.
Cardinal Services, which administers Head Start in Kosciusko County, applied for a grant to cover the purchase of an Early Head Start van and the new bus. A $128,869 grant was received in the fall and the new vehicles are now in place.
Early Head Start serves children up to 3 years old. Children are served in their homes with the exception of one small all-day preschool classroom in Warsaw.
Head Start home-based teachers visit children's homes, checking in on each child's development and serve as a resource to parents.
Previously, teachers were required to share one van or drive their own vehicle.
The van that was purchased at Toyota, Warsaw, is already providing reliable transportation, according to Gay Trier, Early Head Start specialist.
While Early Head Start serves 40 area children, Cardinal's Head Start is providing preschool activities to 135 children in classrooms in Warsaw, Mentone and North Webster. Head Start children are 3 to 5 years old.
"We want every child to have a good foundation before they go off to kindergarten to be excited and ready to learn to have friends and know how to share and play and engage in a healthy way with one another," according to Lynne Dittman, Head Start director.
