An amount of $3.5 million has been allotted by Federal officials in emergency funds for an early childhood education program to check the prevalence of contaminated drinking water, a factor that has been associated with the increased levels of lead in children’s blood in Flint.

The one-time grant will be made through June 2017 and it will permit three additional Head Start classrooms, serving 51 more kids in neighborhoods affected by the lead contamination.

Head Start is a federally funded preschool program for children belonging to low-income categories, and Early Head Start, for children younger than three years of age.

So far, 1,200 Flint children have been enrolled for Head Start and the grant is expected to increase health and nutrition services for the affected and vulnerable kids. The allocated amount will also facilitate additional 24 children to enroll in a home-based Head Start program. After this, around 800 Flint children remain on a waiting list for the program with thousands more being most likely eligible, said officials.

Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, said Wednesday during a conference call, “We've seen significant progress and have been able to meet a a majority of the State of Michigan's request for assistance. The Head Start announcement is an example of mitigating the impact of the crisis”.

Lurie said the grant will also be used to enhance services by increasing parent education activities and staff training relevant to lead poisoning.

Michigan members of Congress had last month said they would be introducing bills to expand awareness programs, including child learning classes, healthy meals and developmental screenings, for children affected by the contamination in Flint.

In April 2014, the water-supply source for Flint was changed from Lake Huron to the Flint River while the city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. But the supply was last year shifted back to the Lake Huron system due to elevated levels of lead in the other source.