AIAN Head Start and AIAN Early Head Start Award Summary

The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe received a $1.64 million Project Grant award from the Office of Head Start (CFDA 93.600) effective March 1, 2026, through February 28, 2031. This five-year award funds comprehensive early childhood education and family support services designed to promote school readiness among low-income children and families within the tribe's service area in Kingston, Washington. The Head Start program delivers educational, health, nutritional, social, and developmental services to infants, toddlers, preschool-age children (primarily 3- and 4-year-olds), and pregnant women, with emphasis on parental engagement as a core component of service delivery.

As a federally recognized tribal nation, the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe operates this American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start program to enhance the cognitive, physical, behavioral, and social-emotional development of vulnerable young children in their community. The tribe must meet performance standards related to school readiness outcomes, health and family well-being metrics, and federal compliance requirements, and is required to provide a 20 percent non-federal match to support program operations. Awards of this type are administered by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Central Office, which oversees funding to American Indian and Alaska Native and Migrant and Seasonal programs.