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Head Start provider Aster Services describes Cairo center, special-ed plans and transportation for Greene County families
Summary
Aster Services’ Head Start staff described openings at a small Cairo site, home-based services and plans for an integrated special-education classroom and contracted busing beginning in September. Committee members asked about shelter referrals, enrollment and space constraints.
Nikki Johnson, a Head Start representative with Aster Services, told the Greene County Health Services Committee that Aster opened a small center in Cairo in November and has been serving families since. “We were lucky enough to receive the grant to provide services to Greene County residents back in November,” she said, explaining that Head Start offers prenatal supports, home visiting, center-based classrooms and family advocacy to connect families with Medicaid, WIC, housing and other services.
Johnson described the program’s in-center capacity and home-based slots for the coming school year: “In the Carroll Building, we have, 5 infant spots. We have 8 toddler spots... And then we have 34 spots for heads for the preschool students,” she said, and added that staff can serve about 20 children with home-based services. She said the program is fully federally funded and that slots for special education within Head Start are not income-based.
Committee members pressed Johnson about coordination with the county Department of Social Services and shelter outreach; Johnson said center director Laura Markle has been placed on local referral lists and that family advocates have been to shelters to enroll eligible children. Johnson also asked the county to help with referrals and partnerships with local dentists and pediatricians that accept Medicaid so children can receive timely health care.
Johnson and Barb Wallace, director of the preschool special education program at Public Health, said Aster is working with state partners to open an integrated special-education classroom in the Head Start building with a hired special-education teacher and a visiting speech therapist. Johnson said she is finalizing a contract for bus transportation and expects preschool busing to begin in September, which she described as a key step to expand access for rural families.
The committee welcomed the update and approved the related contract moves later in the meeting. The Head Start presenters asked committee members to visit the Cairo site to see the program and to share referrals to help grow enrollment and community trust.
