Former Child Care Association Takes New Name

For more information:  Teresa Rupp, Executive Director, Child Start, Inc.

Phone:  316-682-1853            Fax:  689-8713            Email:  trupp@childstart.org

Date:  Wednesday, May 24, 2006

On Tuesday evening, May 23, at its annual Children’s Champions Awards and Dinner, the Child Care Association of Wichita/Sedgwick County announced that it has a new, shorter name, Child Start, Inc.  The local organization manages several programs – Head Start, Early Head Start, a Child Care Resource & Referral Service, and a Child/Adult Care Food Program – all designed to help young children enter school ready to learn.

“It was time for a change that reflects the broad scope of our services, as well as the fact that our

Resource & Referral Service and our Food Program reach several counties in south central Kansas, not just Sedgwick County,” according to outgoing Board Chairman Roy Hammar.  “The new name is shorter, easier to remember, and more welcoming to families and child care providers in all of the counties we serve.” 

In addition to reaching nearly 1,000 low-income preschoolers and their families annually through Head Start and Early Head Start in Sedgwick County, Child Start helps parents find child care in Butler, Cowley, Harper, Sumner, and Barber Counties, and offers training workshops for child care providers that draw attendance from Harvey, Kingman and McPherson counties as well as several others more distant.   

“Our name has changed, but not our commitment to young children and their families.  We will continue to serve children, parents, and professional caregivers with our programs, as we have since 1958.  We will also continue our longstanding work with other local agencies to make sure that together we are using resources cooperatively to make a difference for all of our area’s young children,” says Executive Director Teresa Rupp. 

Child Start has been recognized for the excellence of its Head Start and Early Head Start programs by independent reviewers, and its Resource and Referral Service is accredited by the National Association for Resource and Referral Agencies.  The organization is a United Way funded partner.