Intro Continued
Wayne County, located in southeast Michigan, is the most populous and oldest county in the state. It contains the City of Detroit along with 42 other communities. The communities outside the city are known as “Out-Wayne County.” It is within this area that Wayne Co. Head Start provides services. The Grantee serves 3723 children through five delegate agencies. The Guidance Center, its largest delegate, serves 1592 children who live in 21 communities in the southern portion of the county.
Over its more than 40 years, Head Start has traditionally been a predominantly half-day program with a great deal of parent participation. The program was designed to assist in breaking the cycle of poverty by offering three and four year old children a high quality preschool program coupled with comprehensive services in the areas of nutrition, social services, social-emotional health and physical health.
In 1996 Congress, in an effort to move families from welfare to self-sufficiency, passed The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The act required welfare recipients to work after two years on assistance. Originally requiring 20 –35 hours of work per week, the program has increased it requirements over the years to now expect a full 40-hour work week in Michigan.
This law drastically affected the Head Start program. Parent participation in the classroom, a longstanding key to helping parents understand child development, become advocates for their children and increase their knowledge of nutrition, health, quality preschool education etc. dropped dramatically as parents went to work during class hours.
The basic half-day, four day a week pattern for serving children is still the predominant model in Head Start though this no longer meets the needs of many families. Very little funding has been allotted to the Head Start program to serve working families with the expanded hours of child care they now need in addition to their Head Start day to facilitate working.
Recognizing that lack of child care is one of the primary barriers to a parent’s becoming a successful employee, Region V. of the Administration for Children and Families, has encouraged Head Start Grantees to explore the creation of partnerships between Head Start and community-based child care providers. This toolkit is the culminating project of the grant. We hope it is of use to others as they also work to meet the changing needs of the families with whom they work.
Patricia K. Sargent, MA
TECPI Project Director
Over its more than 40 years, Head Start has traditionally been a predominantly half-day program with a great deal of parent participation. The program was designed to assist in breaking the cycle of poverty by offering three and four year old children a high quality preschool program coupled with comprehensive services in the areas of nutrition, social services, social-emotional health and physical health.
In 1996 Congress, in an effort to move families from welfare to self-sufficiency, passed The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The act required welfare recipients to work after two years on assistance. Originally requiring 20 –35 hours of work per week, the program has increased it requirements over the years to now expect a full 40-hour work week in Michigan.
This law drastically affected the Head Start program. Parent participation in the classroom, a longstanding key to helping parents understand child development, become advocates for their children and increase their knowledge of nutrition, health, quality preschool education etc. dropped dramatically as parents went to work during class hours.
The basic half-day, four day a week pattern for serving children is still the predominant model in Head Start though this no longer meets the needs of many families. Very little funding has been allotted to the Head Start program to serve working families with the expanded hours of child care they now need in addition to their Head Start day to facilitate working.
Recognizing that lack of child care is one of the primary barriers to a parent’s becoming a successful employee, Region V. of the Administration for Children and Families, has encouraged Head Start Grantees to explore the creation of partnerships between Head Start and community-based child care providers. This toolkit is the culminating project of the grant. We hope it is of use to others as they also work to meet the changing needs of the families with whom they work.
Patricia K. Sargent, MA
TECPI Project Director
