Sonrisa de Chimayo Head Start

YDI Early/Head Start has experienced dramatic growth since it became the interim Head Start grantee in Bernalillo County in 1995, mirroring the growth of the Early/Head Start Program across the country since President Johnson declared “War on Poverty” in 1964. Sargent Shriver was named head of the "War on Poverty" program and in December 1964 he asked Dr. Robert Cooke, pediatrician at John Hopkins University, to head a steering committee of specialists in all fields to discuss what should be done for young children.

Designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, educational, and physical needs, Head Start was launched, serving over 560,000 children and families across American in an eight-week summer program. By 1984 Head Start had served 9,144,990 children and their families. In 1972 the Economic Opportunity Act was amended, mandating that at least 10 percent of the national enrollment of Head Start consist of handicapped children. In September 1995 the first Early Head Start grants were awarded to provide services for children birth to age three and pregnant women.

In 1996 YDI became the permanent grantee for Head Start in Bernalillo County. At that time the Head Start program in Bernalillo County had 8 centers. Today YDI’s Head Start program operates 32 NAEYC accredited centers in three counties with a total funded enrollment of 1,532 children.

In 1998 YDI became the interim grantee for the Head Start program in Rio Arriba and Taos Counties and became the permanent grantee the following year. Today, YDI provides Head Start services to 1,370 children in Bernalillo, Rio Arriba, and Taos counties. Since 1998 YDI has also begun offering Early Head Start services to 32 infants/toddlers and their families and 8 pregnant moms in Bernalillo County. Today YDI Early Head Start has expanded to serving 144 infants/toddlers and 8 pregnant moms in Bernalillo County and 16 infants/toddlers and their families in Taos County.

Additional Information: Quality Rating: 5-STAR; Environment: No Smoking, No Swimming Pool, Wheelchair Accessible, Non Faith-based, Outdoor play area fenced; Special Needs: Program has strong commitment to inclusion;