Director: No plans to close Wood County Head Start

MARSHFIELD – The doors for Wood County Head Start will stay open, even after the federal government announced billions of dollars in cuts to the program.

That announcement came earlier this month, when the Department of Health and Human Services said it will consolidate its 10 regional offices  into five. However, those closings are not expected to trickle down to the local level.

“There’s no plan right now for Wood County, or any other Head Start, to close,” said John Martin, director of Wood County Head Start, adding staffing levels at the Wood County sites should stay the same. “We’re continuing to provide services as we have for 40-plus years.”

Those services go beyond educational, addressing other issues such as nutrition, medical and dental services, and social and emotional development. Head Start also encourages parents to get involved.

The cuts at the federal level are expected to save about $1.8 billion each year. Wood County, meanwhile, has an annual budget of about $4 million, Martin said. Most of that goes toward teacher salaries.

He said cutting down the number of regional offices could slow down some things. Each year, he submits a budget to the federal level; getting back that OK could take longer now.

But he said one thing won’t change, and that’s their commitment to the children and families they serve.

“Ninety-percent of our parents are working parents, so they rely on us,” Martin said.

Head Start is taking applications for the coming year. The free program is open to low-income families as well as children with disabilities and foster children, regardless of income.

For more information, go to the website at: www.woodcoheadstart.org