D&E Counseling Tapped to Run Head Start Programs

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The D&E Counseling Center, 711 Belmont Ave., has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to administer its Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Mahoning County.

The executive director of D&E, Joe Shorokey, made the announcement Wednesday.

Head Start is for children ages 3 to 5 while Early Head Start is for children from birth through age 2.

D&E is the recipient of an HHS operating grant of $7,316,486 for the 2015-16 school year and an additional $366,097 for being a new provider.

It succeeds The Community Development Institute of Denver, which had run the programs since September 2014 as interim operator.

D&E will conduct Head Start and Early Head Start pre-schools at 14 sites in Mahoning County. At the sites, infants and young children will attend classes in 20 all-day and 13 half-day Head Start classroom and five Early Head Start classrooms. Slots for children in Head Start number 773 while the number for Early Head Start is 72, Shorokey said.

Once up and running, the Head Start and Early Head Start programs will employ 149 as teachers, classroom aides, drivers, supervisors and support staff, D&E said in its announcement.

The center is yet to hire anyone to fill the positions but, said Shorokey in a prepared statement, “We will be working very closely with the Community Development Institute over the next two months to assure a seamless transition. Our goal is to identify those staff that have both a passion to continue working in Head Start and Early Head Start and a commitment of excellence.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.