ECS to Integrate Head Start, Child Care Subsidy Program in 2026

Montgomery County's Early Childhood Services (ECS) announced plans to integrate Community-Based Head Start and the Working Parents Assistance Program — the county's locally funded child care subsidy — into a more unified early care system beginning in 2026. The changes aim to better align access, affordability, quality, and workforce support across the county's early childhood programs. The announcement was made in an end-of-year message from the ECS Senior Administrator dated December 30, 2025.