Ascension Parish Head Start

What is Head Start?

Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that serves children from ages three until five, and their families. The Ascension Parish Head Start Program is licensed as a day care program and therefore meets the minimum requirements established by the state for a Class A license.


The Head Start Program is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), and the Office of Head Start (OHS). The Ascension Parish School Board is the recipient of the grant awarded to Ascension Parish.


The Head Start program has a long tradition of delivering comprehensive and high quality services to low-income children. A wide range of individualized services are provided to each participant. In addition, the entire range of Head Start services are responsive and appropriate to each child and family’s developmental, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage and experience. Head Start requires that 10% of all enrollment slots are made available to children with identified disabilities. Children with disabilities and their families receive the full range of Head Start developmental services. The Head Start staff work closely with community agencies (namely Ascension Parish Special Education Department) to meet the special needs of children with disabilities.