Early Head Start

Since 1995, Friends of the Family has added seven Early Head Start (EHS) programs to Maryland's Family Support Center network in five counties and Baltimore City. These programs strengthen the state's developing early childhood support system, raising Maryland's profile nationally in the process.

Today, the seven EHS-funded Family Support Centers represent an investment of more than $2.7 million annually in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). They serve 248 children under the age of three and their families, making Friends of the Family the largest EHS grantee in Maryland and one of the largest in the nation.

Profile of growth - Our first two Early Head Start programs got underway in 1996. Collaborating with the Caroline County Board of Education and the Kennedy Krieger Family Center, Friends of the Family was awarded funding to establish and operate (EHS) programs in Denton and the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore City. Five other EHS programs have been added to Maryland's Family Support Center network since then. In each case, we partner with a local, direct service provider in:

• Southern Anne Arundel County, with Anne Arundel County Economic Opportunity Committee;
• Elkton in Cecil County, through Cecil Community College;
• Federalsburg in Caroline County, through Caroline County Board of Education;
• Easton in Talbot County, through Talbot County Health Department; and
• Cambridge in Dorchester County, through the Dorchester County Health Department.