Feds Award Hopkins House $250K

ALEXANDRIA, VA. - Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) presented Hopkins House with a symbolic check Friday in the amount of $250,000 to fund the expansion of a workforce development across Northern Virginia.  

The Early Childhood Learning Institute is a project designed to demonstrate the efficacy of a community-based workforce development model that assists at least 100 low-income individuals earn a Child Development Associate credential, a Career Studies Certificate, and 31 credits toward a college degrees in Early Childhood education.

Graduates from the Learning Institute will gain full-time employment in local childcare centers at a starting salary of $30,000 plus benefits.  

Moran sponsored the federation appropriation through the Department of Labor and the Early Childhood Learning Institute will be part of a Workforce Investment Act pilot.  He remarked that early childhood education helps to “build the foundation” toward future success.  

The Early Childhood Learning Instituteoffers college courses on Saturdays at Hopkins House, weekdays evening CDA preparation, after-work tutoring and mentoring, career academic counseling, childcare, books and materials, and encouragement.  

Early Childhood Learning Institute partners include the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, Northern Virginia Community College, Alive! Early Childhood Learning Center, Creative Preschool, and Happy Home.

The mission of Hopkins House is to provide quality educational programs and opportunities to children, youth, and their families, regardless of income, to help them achieve, in measurably effective ways, their full intellectual, economic, and social potential.