BALTIMORE, Md. (June 21, 2016)—Today, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen joined Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, representatives from LIGHT Health and Wellness Comprehensive Services, and members of the community to celebrate the grand-opening of Baltimore City’s newest Early Head Start Program.

Early Head Start provides early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services to low-income infants and toddlers and their families, and pregnant women and their families completely free of cost if families meet eligibility guidelines.

“This new location will provide new early educational opportunities that will help better meet the needs of our children,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “By offering increased support at an even younger age, our children will be more equipped for successful learning when they enter elementary school. I am proud to join our community to celebrate this new site, which will further support efforts to take our children to the next level.”

Head Start and Early Head Start programs have been shown to support the mental, social, and emotional development of children from birth to age five.

Participation and graduation in Head Start or Early Head Start Programs have been proven to improve children’s health outcomes, including significantly decreased mortality rates for five to nine year-old children, decreased childhood obesity rates, and decreased smoking rates during adulthood. In addition to education services, programs provide children and their families with health, nutrition, social, and other services.

Previously, the Baltimore City Health Department’s Early Head Start program operated only through home-based visiting services.

The new renovated space, which operates in the former Cloverland Milk Bottle Building, is run in partnership with LIGHT Health and Wellness to provide full program services in a central location to better serve the health and wellness needs of young children and communities.

“Early Head Start is not only critical to preparing that our children enter school ready to learn, but also for ensuring that families have access to high quality education, health, and family services,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. “We know that every interaction can also be a crucial health intervention. By providing Early Head Start services to children within their own homes—and now in their communities—we can maximize the potential of our youth and provide the wraparound support families need.”