Family Services

Family Services

Head Start, Inc. has seven Family Advocates who provide families with referrals to community resources in areas such as emergency assistance, educational opportunities, parenting classes, employment training, and counseling.  Each Advocate is assigned to the families of children in several classrooms.  In our partnership with parents we use Family Partnership Agreements to identify and build upon family strengths and interests and to work toward family generated goals.  Family Advocates maintain regular contact with parents to provide on-going support as they assist families with achieving their goals, meeting with parents in the home, community, or at one of the Head Start sites.

Mental Health
www.aware-inc.org

Head Start partners with A.W.A.R.E., Inc. to provide mental health services to children and families.  As part of this collaborative agreement, AWARE provides the services of a licensed therapist who also serves as the Head Start consultant.  In addition to the consultant, also housed at Head Start are several classroom support staff, an additional therapist and an in-home service provider.

The Mental Health Consultant provides classroom observations at each of our Head Start sites and often meets with parents and/or staff to provide strategies and suggestions for challenging situations.  Classroom support is offered for identified children needing extra help with social skills, anger management and coping skills.  Parents, Head Start Staff, and AWARE Staff work together to develop goals to assist the child in developing the skills needed for success.  Play therapy is provided at Head Start with an emphasis on parent involvement.  Therapy can occur before, during, or after class, whichever is most convenient for parents.