Countywide Head Start Open Enrollment Has Begun – Children ages 0-5 from low income families are eligible
POUGHKEEPSIE – Astor Services for Children & Families is pleased to announce open enrollment for
the 2015 – 2016 school year for its Early Head Start and Head Start Programs. Early Head Start/Head
Start are federal, early childhood programs for low-income families with children 0 – 5 years old. Astor
administers these programs in Dutchess County in Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Millerton, Wingdale,
Beacon, Wappingers Falls (Mt. Alvernia) and Hyde Park.
“We have been providing these critical services to children and families since 1978. Our philosophy is
deeply rooted in providing quality, comprehensive child care — that is, our Early Childhood Programs not
only benefit children, but their entire family,” says Mary Sontheimer, Assistant Executive Director, Astor’s
Early Childhood Programs.
Last year, both Early Head Start and Head Start Programs were at 100% capacity. During that period,
Head Start served 435 children and 415 families, and the Early Head Start served 208 children and 181
families.
Children in this program are eligible to receive: breakfast and lunch, vision and hearing screenings,
mental health services, parent meetings and workshops, family service support and home visits.
For more information or to locate the Early Head Start/Head Start Center nearest you please call (845)
452-4167.
About Astor
Since 1953, Astor Services for Children & Families (formerly The Astor Home for Children) has been providing behavioral and
educational services in a caring environment where children and their families find strength, healing, hope and trust. Now
serving more than 6,000 children and families annually in over 33 locations, Astor’s current range of services in the Hudson
Valley (Dutchess, Orange and Ulster counties) and the Bronx include: Residential Programs (for children ages 5-14 who have
severe behavior and mental health challenges); Early childhood Programs (Astor operates the Early Head Start and Head
Start Programs in Dutchess County, a federal early childhood program for low-income families); and Community-Based
Behavioral Health and Prevention Services (outpatient mental health services).
