“I’ve always been a nurturer,” explains Lorraine Rowden Neenan, the children’s services program director for the Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County. The CAC administers the Head Start program, which provides care and education to children ages zero to five from low-income families while remaining sensitive to each’s ethnic and cultural heritage. “Our whole job is to help that parent get to work,” says Lorraine. “We’re all about getting the child into a routine and ready for school.”
The CAC runs 24 centers, all of which are held to the high standards of the National Association for Education for Young Children. “Not only are we accredited, but we’re free as long as you’re a low-income family,” says Lorraine. “We have a waiting list. We’re able to fill 1,003 slots a year. “
Lorraine is one of the most serene people I know. Born in Altadena, she moved to Santa Barbara when she was seven, so her dad could work as a police officer here. She studied at SBCC ‘s Early Childhood Education program.