A Mississippi organization will take control of five Jefferson County Head Start sites that have struggled to meet local demand for childcare after a leadership change and a previous operator’s shutdown.

Jackson-based Mississippi Action for Progress, Inc. is expanding to the Birmingham metro, thanks to more than $7.2 million in federal funding through a five-year grant, the nonprofit announced. The organization will start local services on Dec. 1, according to its statement.

Ashley Nichols, director of community development for Mississippi Action for Progress, told AL.com that the Birmingham centers have had a waitlist to enroll more children and families. Mississippi Action for Progress will work to double enrollment to reach 357 Head Start students and 138 Early Head Start students.

The programs, which are free for families that qualify based on income as well as for children in foster care no matter family income, provide preschool for children between the ages of six weeks and five years old. Programs also support new and expecting parents. They will serve children at the following sites:

• Dr. Craig Pouncey in Center Point,
• Elyton near the Legion Field Stadium,
• Festival in Crestwood,
• Cooper Green in southwest Birmingham,
• and Kingston at Kingston Elementary School.

Head Start and Early Head Start programs are federally funded and overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. At the start of 2023, the federal Office of Head Start launched a grant competition for new operators of Jefferson County’s Head Start and Early Head Start services.

Mississippi Action for Progress was founded in 1966 and currently serves nearly 5,300 children and their families through its Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Mississippi.

The new provider is taking over nearly two years after the previous service provider, the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity, dissolved amid a financial misuse scandal.

When JCCEO shut down, two of its seven sites didn’t reopen. In the meantime, temporary operator Community Development Institute has been running five Head Start and Early Head Start sites.

A public notice filed in early August signaled CDI’s time as a temporary provider for the county’s childcare programs was coming to a close. A WARN notice, which major employers are legally required to file with the state before cutting jobs or closing, announced CDI was laying off 126 employees at the end of September.

But Nichols said that it’s just protocol for staff to have to reapply for their roles during a transition like this. She said that the organization plans to prioritize hiring current staff, and there won’t be a gap in services during the transition.

“The children and families should not notice any changes,” Nichols said.

The nonprofit will hold a job fair at the Westin Hotel in Birmingham on Oct. 12, with about 130 open positions across the five centers, including teachers, teachers assistants, custodians, cooks and bus drivers.

Nichols declined to provide salary information, but said benefits include employer-paid health, vision, dental, long and short term disability, life and cancer coverage.

Last month, Fairfield City Schools announced a new $15 million, five-year grant to also operate Head Start and Early Head Start programs for western Jefferson County, starting in mid-October. At the time, Regina Thompson, the school district’s superintendent, said that those sites will include Forest Hills Community Development Center in Fairfield and another undetermined site.