July 14, 2025
Dear Parents:
Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis will no longer receive federal funding to provide Head Start/Early Head Start services in St. Louis City and St. Louis County, MO, after July 31, 2025. Beginning on August 1, 2025, Community Development Institute Head Start (CDI HS) will begin providing Head Start/Early Head Start services in this area on an interim basis.
The goal of CDI HS is to provide Early Head Start services 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 (if applicable)
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 through the Federal grants process. This could be several months or longer. CDI HS has nothing to do with the selection of a replacement grantee.
You may call 314-474-9222 or visit www.cdiheadstart.org/ https://www.cdiheadstart.org/SLMOHS 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 314-474-9222 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. IF NEEDED: From August 1, 2025, 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.
Please use the links below for additional information about Head Start, Interim services, and to contact the Office of Head Start Central Office:
Sincerely,
Gia Lawe Diana Smith Sonya Franklin
NIM Site Manager NIM Lead Site Manager Start-up Lead
July 14, 2025
Dear Head Start and Early Head Start Staff:
Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis will no longer provide Head Start/Early Head Start services in St. Louis County after July 31, 2025. Beginning on August 1, 2025, 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 interim management, please see the CDI HS website: www.cdiheadstart.org
The goal of CDI HS is to serve Head Start/Early Head Start children with minimal disruption of services to children and families. We have a team in your local community that will be working in the following key areas to begin operations as soon as possible:
- Facilities (including licensing)
- Vendors (having vendor agreements in place, including food)
- Insurance (secure all of the legal insurances required)
- Transportation (if applicable)
The role of CDI HS is to provide services to children and families until a replacement grantee is selected through the Federal grant competition system utilized by the Office of Head Start. This could be several months or longer.
You are invited to meet with representatives from CDI HS and the Office of Head Start Regional Office on July 15, 2025, at 9 AM Urban League Center Connected Community Center 2900 Pershall Road St. Louis, MO 63136. This meeting will provide information about the interim process and how to apply for employment with CDI HS. For any other questions or if you would like to leave a message you may call 314-474-9222 and one of our team members will respond to you promptly. You can also visit our program website for this service area for updates during the startup process: https://www.cdiheadstart.org/SLMOHS
In addition, the Office of Head Start Central Office staff will attend our initial staff meeting (virtually), so you will be able to meet them.
Please use the links below for additional information on Head Start, Interim services, and contact the Office of Head Start Central Office:
Sincerely,
Gia Lawe Diana Smith Sonya Franklin
NIM Site Manager NIM Lead Site Manager Startup Lead