LAKEWOOD, Colo. — A grant awarded to Jefferson County Head Start is opening up 80 childcare slots open on October 1.
64 more preschool slots and 16 more openings for toddlers at four new locations across Lakewood and Golden.
"The city of Lakewood was previously the grant recipient for Head Start services in the city of Lakewood, and the City Council voted to rescind their grant. It went up for competitive grant opportunity," Head Start Director for Jefferson County Rachel Meixner said. "We applied, with the support of the Board of County Commissioners, and then were awarded the funds to pick up the services that they were providing."
The four locations are listed below and all of them will operate on a four-day school week, with classes for 7.5 hours Tuesdays through Fridays.
- 11th Ave. Head Start
- Patterson Early Head Start and Pre-K
- Patterson Pre-K
- Daniels Head Start
"The Head Start is a no cost program for eligible families, so for families that might not otherwise be able to afford center based care, this is really impactful," Meixner said. "Aside from affordability, there's just not enough Child Care capacity to meet the need, and so adding these 16 slots just makes it a little bit more accessible for families who otherwise would be able to access that care."
This grant comes as the country waits to hear more about President Trump's budget plans. Rumors are swirling that head start will take a big cut.
From a federal standpoint, right now, we're just waiting for the fiscal year 2026 appropriations to see what funding levels are going to look like for Head Start," Meixner said. "Without increases in the federal appropriations to keep up with inflation, it's really hard to continue operating at the same level."
Families are eligible head start if they're at or below 100% of the federal poverty level.
"We also accept families up to 130% of the federal poverty level. Families who are receiving SNAP benefits or TANF ... or SSI are automatically eligible for our program as our children who are in fostering kinship care and families experiencing homelessness," Meixner said.
Anyone interested in applying for the open slots can go here.
