Department of Early Care and Learning is providing a $75,000 grant to United Way of Central Georgia todeliver access to high-quality early programs for dual language learners - ages six weeks up to kindergarten. This will allow United Way to expand its existing First Steps services by using bilingual staff to connect more than 250 new families to needed resources.

Spanish speaking families from Bibb, Macon, Peach, and Crawford counties can also enroll in United Way’s successful Parents as Teachers Program which focuses on early learning and development.  The funding will enable United Way to gather and document unmet needs and systemic barriers facing families, and to engage and educate system partners about cross-cultural competencies needed to support hispanic families, as well as identifying solutions to overcome these systemic barriers.