August 1, 2023

Dear Parents: 

West Central Community Services, Inc. Is no longer receiving federal funding to provide Head Start/Early Head Start services in Henderson, Knox and Warren Counties, IL after July 24, 2023.  Effective August 1, 2023, Community Development Institute Head Start (CDI HS) will begin providing Head Start/Early Head Start services in this area on an interim basis. 

You may call (844) 563-7244 toll-free or visit: www.cdiheadstart.org/westcentralillinois/ for the most up-to-date information regarding Head Start interim management services in your area. You may also contact your program staff who will be receiving more information as they participate in the upcoming process. For any other questions or if you would like to leave a message, you may call (844) 563-7244 and one of our team members will respond to you promptly. 

Part of the process will include you electing parent members to the CDI HS Policy Council within the first 30-45 days of CDI HS operations.  The Policy Council structure will be provided prior to the election process, and you will be receiving a guide to Parent Committees titled The Parent Voice. From August 1, 2023, until the election of the regular Policy Council an interim/temporary PC will be formed. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.  You can be assured that we will do our best to deliver quality Head Start/Early Head Start services with as minimal amount of disruption as possible.  We are looking forward to working with you.   

Sincerely, 

Diana Smith                 Carolyn Dayish                        Jeffrey Murman

NIM Site Manager        NIM Lead Site Manager          Startup Lead

Dear Head Start and Early Head Start Staff:

West Central Community Services, Inc. will no longer receive federal funding to provide Head Start/Early Head Start services in Henderson, Knox and Warren Counties, IL after July 24, 2023.  Beginning on August 1, 2023, Community Development Institute Head Start (CDI HS) will begin providing Head Start/Early Head Start services in this area on an interim basis.

For more information on the interim management please see the CDI HS website: www.cdiheadstart.org

We are hopeful that CDI HS will be able to serve Head Start and Early Head Start children with minimal disruption of services to children and families. We have a team arriving in your local community to work in the following key areas to begin operations as soon as possible:

• Staffing

• Facilities (including licensing)
• Vendors (having vendor agreements in place, including food)

• Insurance (secure all of the legal insurances required)
• Transportation

The role of CDI HS is to provide services to children and families until a replacement grantee is selected by the federal Office of Head Start.  This could be several months or longer.

CDI HS has set up a toll-free number that current Head Start/Early Head Start staff can call to get the most up-to-date information on the startup process and possible opportunities to apply for employment with CDI HS: (844) 563-7244.  This information line will provide the time and location of any informational meetings and/or New Employee Orientation Meetings not yet scheduled. For any other questions or if you want to leave a message, you may call the same number and select the HR option, and one of our team members will respond to you promptly.

You can also find updates on our program website here: www.cdiheadstart.org/westcentralillinois/

We look forward to working with you through this process!

Sincerely,

Diana Smith                Carolyn Dayish                        Jeffrey Murman

NIM Site Manager       NIM Lead Site Manager          Startup Lead