Program FrameworkEarly/Head Start program design varies by community. Each agency conducts an in-depth Community Assessment every three years, with annual updates, and then bases its program design on the needs, strengths, and resources of the local community. In center-based programs, the child attends an Early/Head Start classroom and comprehensive services are delivered to the family using the center as a base. Center-based programs may be half day or full day, and the number of days of attendance per week may vary. The length of the program year also varies, with some programs providing the minimum required by the Head Start Program Performance Standards (32 or 34 weeks), and others providing a full year of services. Head Start teaching and family support staff make periodic visits to the family's home in the center-based option. In the home-based program option, Early/Head Start services are delivered in weekly home visits to the family's home, primarily through intensive work between the Home Visitor and the child's parent. Group socializations are provided twice per month and may include field trips and classroom experiences. Some agencies combine the center- and home-based options, called the combination model. Other agencies create unique designs, called "local options," again based on the local community assessment. With the growth of full day/year and birth to age 3 services, many more agencies are providing services through family child care homes. Illinois Early/Head Start programs use all of the program options. These are outlined by individual agency in the "Program Profiles" section of this report. Statewide Head Start enrollment by program option for 2000-01 includes:
Eligibility for Early/Head Start is based on the federal poverty income guidelines which are updated each year by the Census Bureau. Head Start families' incomes must be below the poverty line as depicted for 2005 on the following chart.
Head Start programs, including Early and Migrant/Seasonal Head Start, are governed by a set of federally legislated Program Performance Standards that were established in the 1970's and revised in 1998. These Standards provide the base quality framework by which all Head Start agencies operate. The Head Start Program Performance Standards provide standardized definitions of Head Start quality and are used as the structure for monitoring services, both at the local and from the federal levels. Prior to the 1998 revision, the Program Performance Standards addressed all areas of Head Start comprehensive services. That revision brought integration of the Standards for quality comprehensive service delivery, needed to implement the Head Start concept, into three major areas:
Additionally, the Standards address services to children with disabilities/special needs. Head Start agencies use these standards to create their programs' services and methods of delivery, establish management systems, and monitor quality. For more than 40 years, no other early childhood development program has been more extensive and successful than Head Start in meeting the needs of the children, families, and communities it serves. Research has unequivocally demonstrated that Head Start makes a difference in the lives of children, families, & communities. Some of the proven benefits of Head Start are: children are better prepared to learn & have higher self-esteem and social behavior at school entry; children show positive school achievement and motivation; and, Head Start provides jobs and services in most communities and makes those communities more responsive to the needs of low-income people. Many positive outcomes for children have been demonstrated, including: positive long-term effects on parent & teacher ratings of anti-social behavior and/or actual delinquency records; and, Head Start children score higher on such school readiness measures as verbal achievement, perceptual reasoning, and social competence than children who have attended other preschools or no preschool. Parents involved in Head Start are found to have: greater quality of life satisfaction, increased confidence in coping abilities, and decreased feelings of anxiety, depression, and sickness. They also report positive changes in their personal lives, behaviors, & attitudes, including an increase in knowledge of available social services & resources and a decrease in negative attitudes towards public schools. Head Start benefits communities in strong ways: by providing employment to thousands of people, and providing countless Head Start-related job opportunities; by providing leadership in successful community partnerships to maximize resources for more coordinated services; and, by working to reduce the predictors of later juvenile delinquency - childhood anti-social behavior, low cognitive abilities, and poor parenting - by providing family support and education. Effective evaluation of Head Start has long plagued researchers. Improved social competence and children's preparedness for school are more elusive than evaluating IQ increases. However, the evidence is convincing that these goals are achieved in Head Start. The program is also difficult to evaluate due to one of its strengths ó its flexibility. But in fact, the General Accounting Office (1995b) used Head Start as the standard by which to evaluate other preschool initiatives. Several major reports have shown Head Start to be more comprehensive & more developmentally appropriate than most others (Zigler, 1997).
Head Start is intended to meet the individual needs of each child. Every child receives a variety of learning experiences that enhance his/her cognitive, social, emotional & physical growth. Classroom and home-based visit materials, activities and practices fulfill this design by:
Enhancing the classroom experience are home visits from teaching staff to every child's family, a unique feature of Head Start. Head Start addresses the child within the context of the family and partners with the parent, the child's first teacher, in providing the child's education. Professional development is part of every Head Start program, with staff members receiving training and course work in child development, as well as other areas related to ensuring children receive the best early childhood education possible. Children are screened at the beginning and end of the program year in all developmental areas. Ongoing assessment is completed for each child, and activities planned that will meet his/her individual goals. Results of these screenings and assessment are shared with and explained to parents on home visits and in parent conferences. Parents are encouraged to observe and volunteer in classrooms and on field trips. Training is provided for parents on child development issues and other topics of interest. Activities they can do with their children at home are provided and encouraged.
ERBA Head Start parent
Health
A health assessment and early identification of health-related needs ensure each child receives medical, dental, mental health, and nutritional care, including:
Every day in Head Start, children brush their teeth and receive nutritious meals and snacks. Referrals and follow up care are provided, when indicated. Head Start also offers a health education program for children and parents. It includes, among many issues, education on healthy & safe practices & habits, and nutritional issues such as how to select & prepare healthy meals and budget for health. The Head Start health program also focuses on staff, providing training and addressing issues of health, wellness, safety, & mental health. In Illinois, 86% (30,912) of Head Start children had health insurance during the 2000-01 program year. 80% of these children were enrolled in Medicaid/EPSDT, 15% had private health insurance, 3% were enrolled in KidCare, and 2% had some other form of health insurance.
Other health statistics for Illinois Head Start children during the 2000-01 program year include:
Disabilities Referrals are made, and Head Start programs work with both their local education agencies (LEA's) and their early intervention agencies to provide the best possible services, least restrictive and most natural environments for all children.
The key to Head Start's approach is its level of actively involving parents and the community in all aspects of the program. The partnering process with parents begins at intake and continues throughout their participation in Head Start. Parents are offered the opportunity to do a Family Partnership Agreement with Head Start family services staff. The Agreement looks at family strengths, supports, needs and resources, and contains goals initiated by parents that will help improve their lives and achieve greater self-sufficiency. Head Start staffs advocate within the community for parents, and provide them with the tools to effectively advocate for themselves. Head Start also works individually with each family to improve its conditions and quality of life, by linking parents with community services & resources and providing emergency assistance and crisis intervention. Head Start also partners with parents to:
Head Start families also learn the information and knowledge they need to make a smooth transition upon leaving the Head Start program and to be their children's advocate in school and other settings. Children may visit kindergarten classrooms and parents learn about their rights and responsibilities. Every Head Start program develops & implements a plan to transition children to and from the program. The importance of family literacy is stressed throughout the Head Start program. In the classroom, children are in print-rich environments and encouraged in their language & literacy skills development. Parents are urged to improve their literacy skills, obtain adult basic education, and make their homes a place where reading is part of everyday life. Family literacy services are provided in collaboration with numerous other state & community agencies.
BCMW Head Start Volunteer
Head Start programs encourage father & male involvement in the children's lives and in the program. A part of this is collaboration with child support to ensure families that need it are receiving all possible supports and to encourage and explore ways fathers can be involved in their children's lives, if ideas and support are needed. Head Start tackles a wide range of poverty issues through its family & community partnerships, including substance abuse, violence, HIV, homelessness, single-parent households, inadequate child care, unemployment, and numerous other stressors that challenge families' resources. Head Start programs partner with community agencies & organizations in the course of implementing the Head Start services. Some examples of the community partnerships Head Start programs in Illinois are involved in are:
"What I like about Early Head Start is that my daughter is around where I can check on her. I love the class that they offer for me and my child. The teacher is someone that is there for you, understanding and very helpful on just about any & everything you have any questions about. Being here is like a family thing everyone is here for the same reason. This is a great school. I would also like to get a job here one day because I love children. I could & would make a difference in their lives. I never was the type of person to have the time to learn. I really like to be here to learn all that I can & maybe help others out." PCCEO Parent Head Start promotes excellence in program management as a primary support for quality services provided to young children and their families. The Head Start Performance Standards govern the services that programs must provide and the standards they must adhere to in operating Head Start. Programs are required to establish management systems and procedures that effectively support programming and ensure success. A part of Head Start's program management and quality assurance is the annual program self-assessment. Each agency is mandated by the Head Start Performance Standards to assess the quality of its Head Start program on an annual basis. This process must involve parents and must be approved by the Policy Council. An on-site program review by the federal funding agency and annual reports to the program's federal officers also help to ensure program quality. Head Start programs are governed by a partnership between parents on the Policy Council, the staff, and the governing body of the agency. Head Start is a "federal to local" program, i.e., the funding comes from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Administration for Children & Families, directly to the local agency, or "grantee." Some grantees delegate the Head Start services to other agencies. Only 4 grantees in Illinois have delegate agencies: Chicago Department of Human Services, Community & Economic Development Association (CEDA), The Ounce of Prevention Fund, and the Migrant Head Start Program IL Department of Human Services. Head Start programs in Illinois are administered locally by community action agencies, private & public non-profit agencies, public school districts, and city & state government agencies.
James L. Hymes Jr.,
Head Start Founder
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"Head Start is a wonderful
& unique program. They work well in teaching my son the many things he will need
in kindergarten, such as, counting, ABC's, his numbers, tying his shoes and much
more. They also helped in the area of playing with children his own age. ... The staff
is also wonderful at involving the parents in the education of their children. I
would recommend Head Start to anyone, because I truly believe in all that they do."
Early
in their enrollment, families work with Head Start staff to ensure they have an ongoing
accessible source of health care - a "medical home." Community partners
help in this process. Head Start assists the family in making use of all available
health resources & insurance.
"As a college student
studying various day cares, preschools, & elementary schools, I have observed
& examined a lot of programs. Visiting & volunteering at these places, one
program has stuck in my mind: BCMW Head Start. [This program] has been doing an exemplary
job serving low-income families & their young children for the last 35 years.
� this program works to not only ensure the education of young children aged 3-5
but does an excellent job assisting in health services � These � families are offered
services that they may not otherwise get a chance at. A former Head Start student
& current volunteer, I am writing this letter to praise the Head Start program
& all of the teachers and faculty that strive to make a difference in the lives
of young children."
"I have a dominant impression of universal & tremendous
enthusiasm of the total staffs everywhere: teachers, aides, nurses, administrators.
Beyond question, the adults involved think the program has been magnificent. This
high feeling is based on the warm responses they have gotten from parents, in the
nearly perfect attendance of children, on the gains they think they have seen the
children make I do believe it means something when "the customers" are
pleased, even if the meaning is hard to catch in some score. Quite apart from its
contribution to children, Head Start has brought a sense of significance and community
to adults and has opened career doors for adults."