MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, headquartered in Moultrie, has long had an impact here and across much of Georgia through its Head Start program.

Head Start programs, funded through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, provide school readiness and child care services for 25,000 children across Georgia, according to a recent report by Nicholas Warner of the Center for State and Local Finance at Georgia State University. The grants amount to more than $200 million per year, supporting nearly $415 million in total economic activity.

Locally, the Southwest Georgia CAC’s Head Start program serves more than 2,100 children in 18 counties, including Colquitt County.

Head Start programs in four regions with low median incomes — including Southwest Georgia — received more than $540 per child under the age of 5 in 2015, according to a press release from Georgia State University. Together, these four areas received $47 million in direct Head Start funding, which supported $71 million in economic output.

The Southwest Georgia CAC’s program receives $18 million in grants and turns those funds over seven times to assist children in Head Start programs, said Randy Weldon, chief executive officer of the SWGACAC.

Weldon said he didn’t have local figures on the economic output of the federal funding.

The Head Start programs prepare children in low-income households for regular school programs.

“Children are entering kind of on par where they should be,” said Weldon. “It’s a benefit to the community because they have those resources before they start school.”

Not only does the Head Start program help young children, but their families as well. Other programs offered through the Head Start program include health services, transportation and professional development services.

The SWGACAC is in the middle of a federal review this week. Its annual report can be found online at swgacac.com.