Washington has come through with $1.4 million for a Head Start program that serves Lincoln, Sagadahoc and northeastern Cumberland counties, according to program staff and a statement Thursday, Jan. 30 from Maine’s U.S. senators.

The award wasn’t news to Midcoast Maine Community Action; it is part of the nonprofit’s federal Head Start grant funding that currently totals $2.9 million, dispersed half in January and half in July, MMCA President Claire Berkowitz explained in email responses.

MMCA’s Child and Family Services Director Barbara Moody  said, “The ongoing bipartisan support for Head Start programming is reinforced by the extensive research evidence indicating the academic, social-emotional, and developmental growth of the children and the improved social and economic well-being of the families served. We depend upon and appreciate the support of our Senators who advocate for these programs.”

MMCA’s Head Start budget is about 90% federally funded, Berkowitz said. “We also receive funds from the state and from local sources including some school districts and United Way.”

The senators’ announcement states MMCA’s $1,484,523 award and Aroostook Micmac Council’s $173,187 one – for its Head Start program for members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs – are being funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Head Start programs are instrumental in ensuring that children cultivate new skills and receive educational opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success,” Collins and King said jointly in Thursday’s announcement. “We welcome this important investment in Maine families.”

With classrooms in Newcastle, Whitefield, Waldoboro, Bath, Brunswick, Somerville and Topsham, MMCA’s Head Start provides education, health, nutrition and parent-involvement services to income-eligible children and their families in Lincoln, Sagadahoc and northeastern Cumberland counties, at no cost to the families, Berkowitz said. The program focuses on ensuring children are ready to start school and on addressing all aspects of their development, she said.