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Service Delivery Areas
- Child Care Partnerships
Head Start is committed to providing the highest
quality of care for our children. By collaborating with
child-care providers, Head Start agencies can meet the needs of
enrolled families requiring full-day services (or
non-traditional child-care schedules) or services for siblings
and, at the same time, promote continuity of care. In
addition, the overall quality of local child care services is
enhanced by sharing local resources, training, and knowledge.
- Health & Nutrition
The goal of the health/nutrition component is to
promote healthy living and good nutrition as a lifetime
commitment. Head Start requires each child to have medical
exams, dental check-ups, and up-to-date immunizations that
support the overall care of infants, toddlers, and children.
Health, dental, and nutrition activities are conducted
throughout the month in the classrooms and on home visits.
Family style nutritious meals and snacks are served,
incorporating variety and diversity. Trainings, including
health, nutrition and safety, are offered to parents to help
them provide a medical home for the entire family.
- Family & Community Partnerships
Head Start offers parents opportunities and
support for growth, so that they can identify their own
strengths, needs and interests, and find their own solutions.
The objective of family partnership services is to support
parents as they identify and meet their own goals, nurture the
development of their children in the context of their family and
culture, and advocate for communities that are supportive of
children and families of all cultures. The building of
trusting, collaborative relationships between parents and staff
allows them to share and to learn from one another.
Head Start services families within the context of the
community, and recognizes that many other agencies and groups
work with the same families.
The objective of community partnership services is to ensure
that grantee and delegate agencies collaborate with partners in
their communities, in order to provide the highest level of
services to children and families, to foster the development of
a continuum of family centered services, and to advocate for a
community that shares responsibility for the healthy development
of children and families of all cultures.
- Early Childhood Development &
Health Services
Head Start’s commitment to wellness embraces a comprehensive
vision of health for children, families and staff.
The objective of child health and developmental services is to
ensure that, through collaboration among families, staff and
health professionals, all child health and developmental
concerns are identified, and children and families are linked to
an ongoing source of continuous, accessible care to meet their
basic health needs.
The objective of education and early childhood development
services is to provide all children with a safe, nurturing,
engaging, enjoyable and secure learning environment, in order to
help them gain the awareness, skills and confidence necessary to
succeed in their present environment, and to deal with later
responsibilities in school and in life. Each child is treated
as an individual in an inclusive community that values, respects
and responds to diversity. The varied experiences provided by
the program support the continuum of children’s growth and
development, which includes the physical, social, emotional and
cognitive development of each child.
The objective of child health and safety services is to support
healthy physical development by encouraging practices that
prevent illness or injury, and by promoting positive, culturally
relevant health behaviors that enhance life-long well-being.
The objective of child nutrition services is to promote child
wellness by providing nutrition services that supplement and
complement those of the home and community. Head Start’s child
nutrition needs and in establishing good eating habits that
nurture healthy development and promote life-long well-being.
The objective of child mental health services is to build
collaborative relationships among children, families, staff,
mental health professionals, and the larger community, in order
to enhance awareness and understanding of mental wellness and
the contribution that mental health information and services can
make to the wellness of all children and families.
- Program Design and Management
The objective of program governance services is to ensure that
each grantee and delegate agency has an established policy group
and a well-functioning governing body that share responsibility
for overseeing the delivery of high quality services to children
and families in accordance with Head Start legislation,
regulations, and policies. Through the Policy Council and
Policy Committee—groups with policy-making authority at the
grantee and delegate agency levels, respectively – and through
the local Parent Committees, parents and other community
representatives are empowered to actively participate in the
shared decision-making process.
The objective of management systems and procedures services is
to establish dynamic and cohesive management systems that
support continuous improvement and foster commitment to
providing the highest level of services to children and families
in accordance with legislation, regulations and policies.
Management systems and procedures are part of each program’s
ongoing and organized approach to managing Head Start services.
They are all connected and inter-related with each impacted by
the other and all influencing and influenced by program
services.
The objective of human resources management services is to
ensure that grantee and delegate agencies recruit and select
dynamic, well-qualified staff who possess the knowledge, skills,
and experience needed to provide high quality, comprehensive,
and culturally sensitive services to children and families in
the program. Striving for continuous improvement, Head Start
offers staff, as well as consultants, volunteers, and members of
policy groups and governing bodies, opportunities and support
for ongoing training and development.
The facilities, materials and equipment services is to ensure
that Head Start’s physical environment supports the delivery of
high quality services to all children and families. Facilities,
materials, and equipment are selected and maintained to create a
learning environment that is safe, accessible, welcoming,
comfortable, age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, and in
keeping with the individual needs of children and families and
the particular features of local programs and communities.
Thus, the requirements of this service area are closely allied
with those of education and early childhood development
- Disabilities Services
Head Start is responsible to make available directly or
in cooperation with other agencies services in the least
restrictive environment in accordance with an individual
education program (IEP) for at least 10% of enrolled children
who meet the disabilities eligibility criteria. In addition,
Head Start continues to provide or arrange for the full range of
health, dental, nutritional, developmental, parent involvement
and social services provided to all enrolled children. Head
Start has a mandate to recruit and enroll income-eligible
children and children with disabilities who are most in need of
services and to coordinate with the LEA and other groups to
benefit children with disabilities and their families. Serving
children with disabilities has strengthened Head Start’s ability
to individualize for all children. Head Start is fully
committed to the maintenance of effort as required for all
agencies by the IDEA and the Head Start Act.
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