Child Development and Education for 0-5 years of Age

The overarching goals of Early Head Start (EHS) focus on the healthy, cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers. Research on early brain development has demonstrated that, to thrive, children from birth to age 3 needs a variety of positive learning experiences provided in a secure and loving environment. In recognition that parents are the primary educators of their children, EHS programs are designed to work with families to ensure that the developmental needs of each child are met.

On-going assessment of each child’s skills and behaviors plays a key role in developing a curriculum that is age appropriate, culturally sensitive, and tailored to meet his or her specific needs. Our agency utilizes several curriculum guides for our classrooms, and research based information to ensure that the child development and the education approach for infants and toddlers, and pre-school children are linguistically and age appropriate. Curriculum for the Early Head Start( 0-3 program) consists of: the Creative Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers, Head Start Dental and Nutritional Curriculum, Creative Resources for the Anti-bias Classroom, and The I’m Moving I’m Learning Curriculum. The High Scope and The DLM Early Childhood Express are the two primary curriculums for the Head Start (preschool program). Head Start Dental and Nutritional Curriculum, Creative Resources for the Anti-bias Classroom, and The I’m Moving I’m Learning Curriculum are also used with preschool children as well. There are several planning guides and research based materials that are carefully selected by staff and parents that are developmentally appropriate and inclusive of all children. These guides are used when preparing lesson plans and designing activities for the classrooms.

Parents play an active role in the assessment process. Their observations, ideas, and concerns about their children contribute substantively to the assessment, and their involvement helps to ensure that the curriculum and goals planned for the child are appropriate within the context of family and culture.

In providing services to children, we must support the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development of each child. Services are provided directly through referral include: early education services in range of developmentally appropriate settings; home visits, especially for families with newborns; parent education and parent-child activities; comprehensive health and mental health services; and high-quality child care services, provided directly or in collaboration with community child care providers. To develop secure relationships with children and families continuity of care emphasized in the Early Head Start program.

In order to help children gain the skills and confidence necessary to be prepared to succeed in their present environment and with later responsibilities in school and life, our Head Start program ensures that all activities and curriculums are developmentally and linguistically appropriate, recognizing that all children have individual rates of development as well as individual interests, temperaments, languages, cultural backgrounds, and learning styles.

HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT

Head Start/Early Head Start seeks to provide comprehensive services to children, pregnant women and families through prevention and early identification of health and developmental concerns, through links to community health services. Each family is encouraged and supported to establish a medical home. Preventative dental services and treatment is encouraged and supported to ensure that children's teeth and gums are healthy. Parents are informed of early dental needs.

Health and developmental screenings are provided upon enrollment and periodically throughout the year. If health or disability developmental concerns are identified, children are referred to the appropriate person or agency for further evaluation, and if found eligible, services are provided.

Staff and parents work together along with health care providers to determine if the child is up-to-date on a schedule of age appropriate preventive and primary health care services. This schedule incorporates the requirements of well child care utilized by the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program of the Medicaid agency of the state. Procedures are in place to track the provision of health care services. Parents, as the primary caregivers of their children, play a central role in health services. They provide important information and are encouraged to participate in following health promotion activities:

• Well child care, to include current Immunizations, Physical and Dental Examinations
• Treatment for identified health and dental problems
• Follow-up care
• In program training and education activities.

Pregnant women are assisted with obtaining comprehensive prenatal and postpartum health care immediately following enrollment. A current physical examination and dental examination is obtained to access the well being of the expectant mother and fetus. Collaboration with community partners is maintained to serve and support expectant families and their strengths and challenges.

Special Needs

Cheaha Regional Head Start/Early Head Start has developed a disabilities service plan providing strategies for meeting the special needs of children with disabilities and their parents. Each child enrolled in our Head Start program receives several screenings within 45 days of enrollment. The children are screened for developmental level by using the LAP-D Screen (Learning Accomplishment Profile – Diagnostic). The teaching staff administers this screening instrument. This screening uses a series of age-appropriate skills to see what the child can/cannot master. Children who score below age level are referred, with parent’s permission, for further screening to the LEA (Local Education Agency) and Early Intervention. The children are also screened for speech/language delays. The children who have difficulty with pronouncing the words on the speech/ language screening are referred, with parental permission, to the LEA. Head Start works closely with the LEA’S in 12 school systems in our six-county service area. There are signed agreements with each of these school systems detailing our collaboration. Children with disabilities are actively recruited and make up at least 10% of our enrollment each year. Cheaha Regional Head Start does not discriminate regardless of the disability. This program has an excellent commitment to wellness and takes a comprehensive look at two major component areas, health and mental health. Head Start believes unhealthy children, whether physically or mentally, cannot reach their full potential. It is therefore, our job to link these children to an accessible, ongoing source of health care. Health care is divided into five sections. These sections include:

 Emergency health procedures

 Short-term exclusion and re-admittance

 Medication administration

 Injury prevention

 Hygiene

By addressing these five sections, Head Start is supporting physical development of children and encouraging practices to prevent injury and illness.

Head Start also believes in supporting the mental wellness of children, families, and staff. The program staff works with parents on a regular basis by role modeling and explaining how mental health is incorporated into the classroom. This is accomplished at parent/teacher conferences, with home visits, and with mental health professional consultation. The mental health professional, Special Needs Coordinator, and staff work with families to ensure a collaborative relationship is built. This relationship is needed in order to enhance the understanding of mental health and how it effects the child’s overall growth.

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
The objective of 45 CFR 1304.40 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.
Family Service Staff is here to assist you with any challenges that you may be facing in the following areas:
Social Services
Health Services
Transportation Services
Education Services
Volunteering Opportunities
Nutrition Services
Family Contact Interactions
Services To Enrolled Pregnant Women

ERSEA Services:
Eligibility:
Applications are taken for children ages six (6) weeks to thirty-six (36) months space that is age and income eligible for the Early Head Start Program and three (3) and four (4) year old for Head Start. A certified birth certificate, proof of income and a current immunization record is needed for eligibility enrollment. Applications are taken for pregnant women who are income eligible.
A certified birth certificate or two proof of I.D. (pregnant women) and proof of income are needed for enrollment.
Recruitment: All Parents are encouraged to assist with the recruitment process, by distributing Recruitment flyers throughout the service area.
Selection: Applications are selected based on their needs based and ranked according to our Eligibility Priority Criteria. The families with the greatest needs will be selected for enrollment.
Enrollment:
Enrollment means the official acceptance of a family by a Head Start program and the completion of all procedures necessary for a child and family to begin receiving services.
Attendance: Attendance will be monitored daily to address concerns that may be contributing to the child’s absence. Parents are encouraged to bring their child daily unless they are ill or there is a family crisis preventing attendance. Contact will be made by phone, letter, or home visit to assess the absenteeism concerns. 

FISCAL DEPARTMENT

Parent Fundraising:
The cost of fundraising is not an allowable Head Start expenditure. If staff assists or Head Start resources are used, the funds raised are turned into program income. Agencies may not use Federal funds to provide seed money, space or staff assistance in order to raise funds. Funds raised by parents are to be managed only by the parent committee of the center that raised the funds, without assistance from Head Start staff.

Fundraising activities will conform to government regulations, agency policies, and best practices. Fundraisers like King and Queen contests and candy sales are not considered best practice. A King and Queen contest is not a developmentally appropriate activity. Candy sales are not consistent with efforts to reduce sugar and fat in diets, a Head Start nutrition education focus.

Parents do not have to fundraise. The Head Start budget has money set aside for a Parent Activity Fund. Spending must always be for program-related expenses or the spending will be unallowed. These funds support the following kinds of activities:

• Including parents on a field trip to the zoo, museum, or circus and paying their entrance fee
• Paying the registration fee and expenses for parents to attend local, state, and national association conferences
• Paying the fee for a special speaker to present at a Parent Committee meeting

Parent Committees are allowed broad latitude when planning, coordinating, and organizing activities. The Policy Council and staff are available to support the Parent Committees in planning these activities as needed by:

• Encouraging parents to discuss all parent activities that are sponsored and assess the effectiveness of those activities
• Obtaining input from parents about what they would like to do in the program
• Assisting in securing funding, personnel, and other resources to support desired activities
• Discussing when to use parent activity funds to help carry out proposed activities
• Encouraging Parent Committees to take responsibility for submitting a recommended budget for parent activity funds for the following year to the Policy Council

HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
All parents are encouraged to apply for employment with our Agency. The Human Resources Department makes every effort to hire current or former Head Start Parents for vacancies for which they are qualified.

Our Agency provides opportunities for parents to receive skill-development, on-the-job training and assistance in obtaining higher education.

All new staff will endure New Staff Orientation Training consisting of 40 hours, which occurs on an as needed basics or as new staff is hired, beginning August of every program year. The New Staff Training will consist of Agency Policies and Procedures, State and Federal Regulations, CPR/First Aid, etc.

If interested in applying with our Agency please contact the Center Coordinator in your area.

TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT
We have implemented a wide array of technology throughout the agency to keep current with technological advances. Uses of technology in this program includes, but not limited to:
• Computers
• Cell phones
• Pagers
• Fax machines
• Scanners
• Printers
• Digital cameras
• Internet accessibility

ChildPlus is the data tracking software in which we use to track enrollment, health requirements, personnel trainings and community resources. With this implementation, the administrative staff is able to enter and receive data from every remote location in real time. This has been a great access for the agency in order to monitor data. With the wide-area network in place, every center is linked together to access information on a daily basis.

The agency has implemented instant messenger and email addresses for every remote site as well as the central office. This will reduce the amount of paper usage as well as faxing, long distance calling, and travel among the centers since the centers will be able to get online to communicate.

Long-Term Goals:
• A website is being designed.
• All forms for the agency will be accessible online. This will greatly reduce the paper usage that the agency uses on a monthly basis.
• The potential plans to link Head Start/Early Head Start classrooms (42) to the Internet, in accordance with the public school systems that are already linked to the Internet.
• The classroom computer’s hardware will to be upgraded in each classroom.

Computer labs are now in place at the following Head Start Centers: Norwood, Ayers,Talladega, Drew Court, Goodwater, Roanoke, Constantine and Lineville. This will benefit the families as well as the communities in the job task force.

Head Start is the leading forerunner in a child’s life and to be able to keep abreast of the technology would greatly enhance a child’s cognitive and developmental learning.