Early Head Start Collaboration
Project Description:
Early Head Start (EHS) received an expansion grant in Oct. 2009. At that time the program had 90 children enrolled in their center and home based programs and there were 180 families on the wait list. It is difficult to find quality child care for children with disabilities. EHS must integrate children with disabilities into their centers and maintain a minimum of 10% enrollment for this cohort of children. Additionally, families must meet enrollment criteria (income, time at work and/or school, etc.) in order to enroll in the program. One expansion activity was to remodel and open a full day infant/toddler center based program that is co-located in a building with Nevada Early Intervention Services (NEIS). The program also added an additional classroom at one of their existing sites and grew their home based program. There are now 180 children enrolled in the program.
NEIS is a state provider of EI services in Washoe County. There are three EHS classrooms (infants, young toddlers, and older toddlers) and a total of 24 children located at this site. Kate Green is currently the site Director at the NEIS site and is also the Disability Manager for the entire program. There are many benefits to this arrangement. Staff receive ongoing training from early intervention professionals who work with the children in their classrooms; children enrolled at EHS participate in NEIS playgroups; due to increased visibility more children are being identified and referred for EI; family events include children and families from both programs; and Ms. Green's EI experience enables her to contribute to ongoing training and support for staff who work with children with disabilities as well as program policy development and implementation.
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Child Care-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Single-County
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
