Hall directs the show as new leader of ACAP Child and Family Services

Shelley Hall has aggressively taken on a daunting job. Helping low-income families and responding to the educational needs of children is no easy task for the new program director at ACAP Child & Family Services.

Shelley Hall has aggressively taken on a daunting job.

Helping low-income families and responding to the educational needs of children is no easy task for the new program director at ACAP Child & Family Services.

But this is where Hall wants to be, right here, right now. It’s a good fit.

“I love it at ACAP,” Hall said between her many chores in the front office. “I love the children and the families.

“We have some of the most needy families that I’ve seen in a very long time. The poverty level is horrific.”

To better meet the needs of an underprivileged community, ACAP has undergone many changes in the past year. No longer a go-it-alone nonprofit agency serving area families and children, ACAP has formed a partnership with multi-faceted Auburn Youth Resources, making it one of its many youth programs.

It also moved into a new home, the education wing of the First United Methodist Church at 100 N St. SE last summer.

And now comes new leadership. Hall, who follows a retired Donna Dussault-Walker, and her staff have brought further change. ACAP now offers a school-age program, and hopes to launch an Early Head Start program with the possible acquisition of a grant.

“Every day I’m searching for grants to apply for,” said Hall, who also is the center’s director for Head Start. “Part of my day is research and applying for grants.”

The community, meanwhile, has stepped up. Donations have made a new, large playground structure possible. Volunteers installed it last Saturday.

Hall previously served as director of early childhood at Highline Community College and Renton Technical College before state budget cuts ended those programs.

She owned her own childcare center and early child program in Eatonville for several years before selling it and retiring. She returned to work for the Washington Association for the Education of Young Children.

Hall has more than 20 years of early childhood experience, including administrative and classroom work. She also has written curriculums.

She earned her undergraduate degree in human development and organizational leadership from Washington State University, and her master’s degree at Gonzaga.

Hall and her husband live in Enumclaw. They have three grown children.

ACAP promotes stable environments for children by offering quality childcare, parent education and resources for families in South King County.

For learn more, call 253-939-0870 or visit www.acapchildservices.org.