Alachua County has enough funds through the federal Head Start program to provide early childhood education services for 561 children and families. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program is only at 58% capacity. The free program works with children age 3 to 5 who are low-income, homeless, in foster care, diagnosed with a disability or whose parents are receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Security Income. Through early childhood programming, Head Start helps reduce educational disparities by preparing children and their families to be successful in kindergarten. “This is one of the most important ways that we can reduce educational disparities,” Dorothy Thomas, a founding member of Head Start location the CHILD Center said, “making sure that all children have access to the same type of high-quality resources when they’re young, so they’ll be prepared for kindergarten.”