Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 19, 1993                   TAG: 9305190178
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TAP GETS HEAD START FUNDING

The grant - considered substantial - was awarded to TAP by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the 1993-94 fiscal year.

Head Start is a federal enrichment program for preschool children from low-income families. For nearly three decades, TAP has administered the program, now at 13 child-development centers and 11 home-based sites. The program serves more than 600 children, 75 of whom have disabilities.

Funding is not a guarantee, though "once we get the amount allocated, we feel confident the money will be set aside from year to year," said Cleo Sims, TAP's Head Start director. Each year, the agency must apply for continuation of funding with Health and Human Services.

"We've been submitting grants for 27 years in hopes of being awarded the funds," Sims said. "It's a real privilege to know we've been awarded our funds to operate another year."

The grant - $300,000 more than 1992-93 funding - will be used for operations and services, including skills training, mental and dental health assistance, transportation and nutrition.

Several Head Start teachers said Tuesday that though their wish lists of needs were long, a priority was operating the program during the summer.

"One thing that we were counting on was summer Head Start," said Sylvia Gunn, lead teacher at the Head Start center in Hurt Park in Roanoke. "We had already been making plans and had to put them aside when Congress didn't approve money for centers to be open during the summer."

Gunn referred to Congress' failure last month to approve President Bill Clinton's economic stimulus package, which included a provision for $500 million to extend Head Start programs nationwide through the summer.

Chances are slim that TAP will operate a summer Head Start program this year, Sims said. The $2.9 million grant does not include money for summer operation, she said.

Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va., who has supported the Head Start program and support services in federal appropriations bills, noted the grant's significance in a news release Tuesday.

"At a time when every federal program must be scrutinized for effectiveness, I believe these funds will make a difference to children and their families in the Roanoke Valley," Robb said.