WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award $7,433,425 in grants to support health care services in Portsmouth, early childhood education in Prince William and Lynchburg and biomedical research at Virginia Commonwealth University. The funding was made available through HHS’s Health Care Cluster Program and Head Start Projects Program.

“This federal funding will help close the achievement gap and ensure children in Virginia are prepared for a lifetime of learning,” the Senators said. “Additionally, today’s announcement builds on the goal of improving access to health care by investing in community-based services in Portsmouth and VCU’s research on diseases impacting thousands of Virginians.

As Governors and Senators, Warner and Kaine have advocated for investments in early childhood education. Most recently, they supported the increase in Head Start funding in the budget passed in December 2015.

The following organizations and entities will receive funding:

• Portsmouth Community Health Center will receive $3,918,761 to support health care services;
• Prince William Head Start will receive $1,590,548 for Head Start programs;
• Lynchburg Community Action Group will receive $1,586,425 for Head Start programs and;
• Virginia Commonwealth University will receive $337,691 for diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic research.