Social Services
Family & Community Partnerships

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:
  • Be their child's first teacher.
  • Volunteer and observe in the classroom or in any aspect of the program.
  • Become employed with Head Start.
  • Receive training in parent education activities and programs, which are planned with parent input, and financial support for continued education.
  • Achieve skills in decision-making, group process, and leadership through participation in the governance of the program.
  • Join Parent Committees and Policy Councils, where they have a voice in the program's administrative decisions.
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 child'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.