MichiganRadio

More Kids Qualify for Head Start ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - Head Start is a federally-funded preschool program for 3 and 4 year old children living in poverty.

There are a couple ways to qualify for Head Start. The main factor is if a family is living at or below the poverty line.

Meghan Swain is director of the Michigan Head Start Association. She says the program has room for 36,000 kids around the state, but because of the economy, more families qualify for the program:

"For example, we had an individual from Ford, a single mom, who was making $40,000 -$50,000 a year, but has lost her job permanently. And now she qualifies for Head Start programming."

Swain calls it the new face of poverty. And she says because of it, waitlists for Head Start programs are on the rise, especially in southern lower Michigan. © Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio