Progreso, TX –U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Administration for Children & Families’ Acting Assistant Secretary George Sheldon, visited the Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday March 13, 2012 to visit TMC (formerly Texas Migrant Council). Acting Secretary Sheldon visited TMC’s Progreso Migrant Seasonal Head Start Center and its Weslaco Migrant Seasonal Head Start Center. Acting Secretary Sheldon was accompanied by Leon R. McCowan - Regional Administrator for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Region VI; Ms. Linda Smith - Deputy Assistant Secretary and Interdepartmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development; Diann Dawson - Director of the Office of Regional Operations within the Administration for Children and Families; and Mr. Cleo Rodriguez, National Migrant Head Start Association Executive Director.
The Acting Secretary also visited with Mayor Miguel Wise of Weslaco; visited the Hope Family Health Center in McAllen; and visited Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg during his tour of the Valley.
Background
On November 1, 1971, TMC (formerly Texas Migrant Council, Inc.) was incorporated as a private nonprofit Migrant Head Start provider for children of Migrant farm workers. TMC began its program servicing 224 children as compared to 7,975 children served today. These children and their families traveled north during the summer season where TMC managed eleven centers and traveled back to Texas during the winter season where they also managed eleven Centers. Five of these Centers were in the Rio Grande Valley region. They included Brownsville, Edcouch, Mission, Pharr and Weslaco. Today TMC manages seventeen migrant seasonal Head Start centers in the Rio Grande Valley and provides services to 3,132 children.
