Montgomery County partners with 10 local centers to expand early Head Start
The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) partnered with 10 community-based, licensed child care providers to add 75 Early Head Start seats across the county.
Seventy-five infants and toddlers in Montgomery County are gaining access to early childhood education, health screenings, and developmental support through a new expansion of the Early Head Start program.
The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) partnered with 10 community-based, licensed child care providers to add 75 Early Head Start seats across the county.
The seats are distributed across community child care centers throughout Montgomery County, maintaining children’s ties to local neighborhoods including ABC Childtime, Carola’s Little Rascals, Children's Magnet Montessori School, Frontiers Family Childcare, International Children’s Center, Kindercare-Germantown, Kukus Cozy Nest Childcare, Somos Montessori LLC, and White Flint Children's House.
“By partnering with community-based child care programs, we’re ensuring that infants and toddlers have access to high-quality early learning environments where families already are,” Dr. James Bridgers, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in a statement.
Supported by $677,656 in Fiscal Year 2027 funding through the County’s Early Childhood Education Initiative, these partnerships are expected to help offset care costs for participating families while introducing targeted developmental resources during the first three years of life.
The addition of 75 seats comes amid a regional shortage of affordable early care options. According to a fiscal year 2026 report by the Children’s Opportunity Alliance, Montgomery County is home to roughly 60,000 children under the age of five, with over half belonging to families struggling to afford licensed child care.
As of fiscal year 2026, the county maintains 11,000 subsidized seats, leaving only 1 in 3 vulnerable children with access to formal subsidized child care or pre-K programs. The expansion aims to incrementally address this gap by establishing additional capacity directly within existing community centers.
Enrolled children receive routine checks to identify developmental milestones or early intervention needs.
