Children’s Home Society of Washington will expand its Early Head Start home-based program that serves pregnant women and families with children from birth to age 3 in South King County. The program will add 52 children, bringing the total served to 188.

To accommodate this expansion, it will end operations of the Green River Child Development Center—located at 31715 124th Ave. S.E. in Auburn—on Aug. 31. The center served 57 children aged 6 weeks to 5 years.

“We remain committed to serving children through our early learning services in South King County. This change will allow us to serve children in the earliest years of life through home visiting and focus our resources on our strategic vision for the future,” said President/CEO Sharon Osborne.

“We are grateful of our long-term partnership with Green River Community College and the ability to serve hundreds of families at the center for nearly 20 years,” she said.

Children’s Home Society of Washington goals for the future include creating a comprehensive family resource center in South King County at its downtown Kent location. The expanded Early Head Start home-based program will be based out of the South King County Family Resource Center in Kent.

Early Head Start home-based program has trained educators who visit the homes of families with children less than three years old or pregnant women and teach parents about their child’s development. CHSW is working with the Office of Head Start during this transition. 

Janica Lockhart is the senior director of the President’s Office.