Athens commissioners seek state help to save program The Hocking. Athens. Perry Community Action Program (HAPCAP) possibly will lose state Head Start program funding and Head Start centers.
Yesterday the Athens County Commissioners passed a resolution to the state asking for help to keep the Head Start program's funding intact. It tells the state to please not cut the funding the way it is proposing
Athens County Commissioner Mark Sullivan said.
If the funding is decreased, the Hocking. Athens. Perry. Community Action Program will be forced to close two Head Start centers in these counties, Sullivan said. Three years ago, three centers were closed because of budget cuts, he added. HAPCAP officials could not be reached for comment.
There are now seven Head Start centers in Athens, Hocking and Perry counties. They are in New Lexington and Corning in Perry County; Laurelville and Logan in Hocking County; and Nelsonville, Athens and Coolville in Athens County, according to the HAPCAP Web site (www.hapcap.org). Head Start serves preschool-age children from low-income families. The program provides a day care, medical and nutrition services and home-based family education sessions, according to the site.
Sullivan said he could not believe the state would cut Head Start funding because it helps disadvantaged children.
We are talking about very poor children he said. The program provides educational services to kids ages three years to five years who would have no other means of receiving high-quality day care.
The commissioners also adopted a proclamation from My Sister's Place denouncing domestic violence. My Sister's Place deals with battered women and victims of domestic violence.
The county also runs a victim's assistance office through the county prosecutor's office to aid victims of domestic violence.
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Andrea Golby
