Our Mission
ACHR is a private, non-profit organization, empowering low-income individuals and families in our community to break the cycle of poverty through education, emergency services, and partnerships that foster self-sufficiency, and community well-being.
A Brief Profile
Headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, the Alabama Council on Human Relations, Inc. (ACHR) is a statewide private, non-profit organization committed to serving and providing opportunities for the citizens of Alabama. Since its incorporation in 1954, ACHR has engaged in a wide range of projects on the federal, regional, state, and local levels. ACHR’s current programs are Early Head Start, Head Start, the Community Services Block Grant programs, and Weatherization provide direct services to participants in Lee County. We have expanded our Early Head Start and Head Start programs into Russell County. ACHR has cooperative agreements with many private and public agencies in the community and strives to link clients with services at other agencies whenever possible to avoid duplication of efforts. In addition, ACHR networks with regional and national groups that share its philosophy of commitment to individuals, families, and communities.
About Our Programs
In 1965, ACHR began one of the first Project Head Start programs in Alabama. Originally housed in basements and churches, the ACHR Head Start program now is housed in three centers in Lee and rural Russell counties. In 1998, ACHR began an Early Head Start program. These two programs serve over 575 children and their families at any given time.
ACHR is noted for innovative programs. For example, ACHR’s Early Head Start program uses a unique, multi-age group model which allows the center-based children from the same family to have the same teacher and facilitates children at different stages learning from one another. The program is based on the HighScope Curriculum Approach adopted for ACHR’s Head Start program over 30 years ago. It also uses elements from The Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers and Conscious Discipline. ACHR’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs feature a unique parent-child program. The program is designed to encourage parents, and other adults such as grandparents, to interact often with each child to help the child expand abilities and skills through every day activities.
The ACHR administers a variety of other programs in Lee County that have grown from the needs of Head Start families. These include the Community Services Block Grant programs, the Child & Adult Care Food Program (serving day care homes in a four-county area), after school and summer child care, low income housing complexes and housing counseling.
Most ACHR programs have eligibility criteria, including an income guideline which varies by program.
About Our Staff
The ACHR has grown from a staff of three to a staff of almost 200 people. It has become a central element in the Lee County community and is becoming more and more involved in neighboring Russell County as well. The ACHR core staff has experience and strengths, a strong educational background, and a long-term commitment to ACHR’s mission. Most coordinator-level staff have been with the program more than 20 years and many have advanced degrees.
Location
The ACHR offers services at the Darden Center complex in Opelika; Frankie B. King Center in Auburn; and more limited services at the Marian Wright Edelman Center in Hurtsboro. ACHR also provides some services at its central offices in Auburn.
ACHR is headquartered in Auburn, a conveniently-located medium-size city in east-central Alabama near the Georgia border. Auburn is positioned directly off of Interstate 85, and is about an hour’s drive from Alabama’s capital, Montgomery and about two hours from both Birmingham and Atlanta, Georgia.
This website is supported by Grant Number #04CH012799 from the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Child and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Neither the Administration for Children and Families nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed are those of Alabama Council on Human Relations, Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Head Start.