DAYTON, OHIO – Today, Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) announced that over $2,500,000 in federal funds have been awarded to Miami Valley Child Development Centers (MVCDC) to serve children from low-income families receiving child care subsidies. MVCDC, which serves over 2,500 families across Turner’s district, was allocated funds under the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services’ (HHS) Fiscal Year 2023 Early Head Start–Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCP) grant program.
In November 2023, Congressman Turner wrote a letter to the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Head Start in support of MVCDC’s application to continue as the grantee for Head Start and Early Head Start services in Montgomery, Clark, and Madison Counties. Using these funds, MVCDC will partner with school districts to operate state Early Childhood Education programs, which are essential to helping families become financially stable and independent.
“Miami Valley Child Development Centers has been serving low-income children and families since the inception of Head Start, and I am glad that they have received these federal funds to continue as the Dayton area’s grantee for this essential program,” said Congressman Mike Turner. “MVCDC’s work is critical to ensuring that young people in our community get a great start in life and can begin kindergarten on track. This grant will make certain that MVCDC has the resources they need to improve the lives of families and children in the Miami Valley.”
Background:
Miami Valley Child Development Centers (MVCDC) is the Dayton area’s largest Head Start provider, serving more than 2,500 families annually. MVCDC works holistically with each child and family through a balanced approach of parent involvement, health, nutrition, social competency, literacy, and numeracy development.
MVCDC has been selected for expansion funding in the past, specifically for Early Head Start services. Recently, the national Office of Head Start awarded it $9 million to consolidate and expand services at a new state-of-the-art early learning center in a historically under-resourced neighborhood in East Dayton.
The Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) initiative brings together the best of Early Head Start and child care through layering of funding to provide comprehensive and continuous services to low-income infants, toddlers, and their families. EHS-CCP enhances developmental services and supports for low-income infants and toddlers, and their families, by providing strong relationship-based experiences and preparing them for the transition into Head Start and preschool.
In March 2018, Congressman Turner wrote a letter in support of MVCDC’s successful $25 million grant application to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In August 2018, MVCDC received the initial installment of the grant in the amount of $12.3 million. On September 15, 2023, MVCDC received the balance of the $25 million award.