The Head Start at Capital Area Community Services is one of eleven programs across the country receiving the Program of Excellence Accreditation from the National Head Start Association. The childcare provider is being recognized, in part, for its efforts in providing livable wages to its employees.
“We increased our salaries, we did a salary study, and we made our salaries more competitive,” Nolana Nobles, associate director at Capital Area Community Services.
According to Nobles, the lowest starting salary at the Lansing Head Start is between $15 to $17 per hour. According to a recent report commissioned by the state, the median hourly wage for early childhood education aides in the capital area is around $12 per hour.
Head Start program services support families with limited incomes, but they also extend to nontraditional families who may not be income-restricted but are encountering other hardships.
“If you have experienced some type of trauma in your life, like homelessness or having an incarcerated parent in the family dynamic,” explained Nobles. “Or maybe a grandparent who doesn’t have an economic barrier, but they are raising a child.”
The program also offers families health screenings, nutrition assistance, financial literacy classes and job readiness support services.
“There are a lot of options in the state for families to consider for early childhood education, but Head Start is different in that we offer comprehensive services,” Nobles said. “We make plans for the parents as well … we help them learn what they need to learn to be better providers, more confident leaders in their own lives.”
In 2022, the state of Michigan received more than $258 million from the federal government for Head Start services across the state. The Lansing program’s representatives have been advocating for the federal government to increase funding to offer mental health support at the Head Start location.
“We also are wanting them to consider giving us more funding for building higher quality facilities in communities like the Lansing area where facilities shortage is becoming a challenge to all of us,” Nobles explained.
The CACS Head Start currently serves more than 1,300 children under five years old in Clinton, Eaton, Ingham and Shiawassee Counties.
