FUNDS ANNOUNCED FOR HEAD START

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson of Cape Girardeau announced last week that the East Missouri Action Agency has been awarded $630,000 for Project Head Start in Southeast Missouri.

Head Start, an early education program for "at-risk" children ages 3-5, relies solely on federal funding. The $630,000 awarded this week is the balance of the organization's $1.27 million annual budget.

The East Missouri Action Agency (EMAA) administers the head start program to 432 students in its eight-county region that includes the counties of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Iron, Madison, Perry, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Washington.

Sharon LaChance, office manager of EMAA Head Start, said this year was the first time the federal government only awarded Head Start a six-month budget.

"At the beginning of the year, we were only funded for six months," she said. "Our fiscal year runs from January to December, but the children are in classes from October to May.

"With this money, we'll be fully funded for the remainder of the fiscal year, which is good news for us, because part of that money will be used for children who are in the current `91-`92 program year who will be in school in the fall."

Head Start serves a total of 60 students at its Cape Girardeau center and a total of 22 in two home-based programs here, LaChance said. In Marble Hill, 20 children are served by Head Start, and in Perryville, there also are 20 children in the program.

The counties in the eight-county area with the most children served by the program include St. Francois County with 108 and Washington County with 100, she added.