August 05, 2024
Regional Early Head Start Grant Relinquished
Breese, IL – For the past 25 years, Community Link’s Early Head Start (EHS) program has supported pregnant women and families from birth to three years of age in Clinton and Washington Counties. EHS is a federally funded, home-based program designed to assist families to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women and enhance the development of very young children.
The program uses the Parents as Teachers model and offers families a sense of belonging, support services, and a chance to be involved in activities to help the whole family. The Family Educators provide child development services, playgroups, and family activities. In addition, they assist with medical linkages, dental clinics, connections to community resources, transitions, and limited transportation.
The community has generously provided great support to Community Link’s children’s program over the years by donating household necessities and toys that has filled the family store with items available at no cost to families who participate in the program.
In order to focus on the agency’s core mission, Community Link has made the difficult decision to relinquish the Early Head Start grant and suspend all children’s programs as of August 31, 2024. As the agency looks forward through a strategic lens, the leadership team has recognized the need to reaffirm the mission to offer opportunities for growth and independence for people with developmental disabilities.
“Community Link is honored to have supported hundreds of children and families over the past twenty-five years through a high-quality program like Early Head Start,” stated John Huelskamp, Community Link executive director. “After careful deliberation, we have determined that we can best serve our community by focusing on the purpose for which we were founded. Since 1972, we have been creating opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities and we will continue to innovative and expand upon this core mission.”
Community Link has referred families currently enrolled in EHS to other educational programs in our region. Families looking for services may contact the Regional Office of Education (ROE) #13 Birth to Three program serving Clinton, Jefferson, Marion and Washington counties at 618-816-5537 or birthto3@roe13.org. In Bond and surrounding counties, families may contact Project Parenting at 618-664-5009 ext 2. Both organizations provide services for families free of charge.
Community Link, a non-profit organization and proud United Way member agency, is dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with disabilities through a person-centered approach that promotes self-directed living choices and community integration opportunities. The mission of Community Link is to offer opportunities for growth and independence for people with developmental disabilities. For more information, please visit our website at commlink.org.