Letter from the Executive Director 

As we celebrate Black History Month, we cannot miss this opportunity to discuss how entrenched Head Start's history is with the Civil Rights Movement. The Head Start program began in the summer of 1965 amidst the mass social upheaval and an organized civil rights movement that was determined to ensure economic equality and an end to discrimination for all Americans, especially African Americans. 

Some notable leaders included Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the late Congressmen John Lewis and Elijah Cummings among its champions. Dr. Edmund Gordon was on the panel of experts who laid out recommendations for Head Start services and was the first research director of the federal Head Start program.

Today, the proud legacy of Black history continues in the Head Start program, celebrating the rich cultural heritage of Black people and their accomplishments, contributions, and influences on our frontline workforce. We salute you for fostering a welcoming and nurturing environment for children and families and your commitment to enriching our lives to create a brighter future.

If you are looking for children's books to celebrate Black History Month, here are a few reads to check out. 

• Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney
  
  
• Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry
  
  
• The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez 

In Fellowship, 

Wanda Minick
Executive Director 
FHSA

Join the Office of Head Start's (OHS) #HeadStartLove campaign just in time for Valentine's Day. OHS wants to recognize the Head Start staff's incredible dedication and tireless work serving our most at-risk children and families.  

In this video, OHS Director Khari M. Garvin shares his love for his role and wants you to share your Head Start story on social media using #HeadStartLove.  

Looking for a post to share on Valentine's Day? Check out this Digital Toolkit to use through your social media channels to share the #HeadStartLove. 

Hashtags: #HeadStartLove 

The Office of Head Start announced that its 2024–2025 National Head Start Fellowship Program (NHSFP) application window is open through March 14, 2024. 

This highly competitive paid work experience and leadership opportunity engages in first-hand experiences that offer a national perspective into the operations of OHS and other federal agencies serving children and families with the greatest need.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services request for public comments was issued on February 2, 2024, seeking approval to conduct a nationally representative survey of Early Head Start (EHS) grant recipients regarding their recruitment, hiring, and professional development practices. 

Click here for more information. 

FHSA was represented at the NHSA 2024 Winter Leadership Institute. Thank you to the Head Start/Early Head Start programs that conducted Hill Visits with their Congressional leaders and staff regarding the importance of investing in Head Start, not cutting it. With the Administration's looming proposed rule aiming to change Head Start's regulations that are currently unfunded and overly prescriptive, conducting these meetings is vital to ensure that if dedicated funding is not appropriated, our most at-risk children and families will lose access to a lifeline of hope. 

There is nothing more that FHSA likes better than promoting the work of Head Start in Florida. Again, FHSA is a proud sponsor of Children's Week Florida™, the statewide event uniting early care and education partners to create a larger-than-life visual inside the Capitol Rotunda. 
 
The Celebration of the Hands display is constructed from thousands of beautiful hand artwork from young children, youth, teens, teachers, parents, legislators, families, and advocates across the state. We hope our Head Start and Early Head Start programs will join us again in the celebration by contributing beautiful hand artwork. This incredible and unique piece of art serves as a daily reminder to Florida legislators that our children's future rests in their hands.  

All artwork must be postmarked by Monday, February 12, 2024 to:

Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region
Attn: Community Relations - Children's Week
2639 N. Monroe Street, Bldg. C, Ste. 300
Tallahassee, FL 32303

Download Tips and Instruction Sheet

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) 51st Annual Conference will be held April 15-18, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. The event will boast hundreds of sessions, special events, celebrations, entertainment, and networking opportunities with Head Start colleagues from across the county. 

In January 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released the “Visual System Assessment in Infants, Children, and Young Adults by Pediatricians”.1 This comprehensive clinical report is an updated vision screening policy statement for pediatricians. It was co-authored by the AAP and the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS),among others.  The biggest update? Instrument-based vision screening, peformed using a photoscreener, is recommended as a clinically valid method to fill a care void.  

Why? When you photoscreen, you catch vision issues early, when treatment is most effective.  

Learn why the AAP updated its vision screening guidelines to recommend photoscreening and ensure you have the knowledge to meet the guidelines and provide the best care for your patients. Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Upcoming Events

February:

13: Inclusion Series: Teach, Assess, and Adjust for Individualized Instruction 

14: Home Visiting Series: Honoring Home in Home-based Programs 

15: Relationship-building with LGBTQIA2S+ Parents, Families, and Staff 

19: FHSA Closed in observance of the Presidents Day 

20: The Future Call: Conversations on Florida's Early Learning Future 

22: Crear entornos acogedores para padres, familias y personal LGBTQIA2S+ de origen latino 

25- 29: Children's Week 

26 - 29: RIVHSA Annual Conference & Expo 

28- FHSA Board of Directors Meeting

Member Information 

Change of address, email or any information? You will need to login to your profile in our organization.

Important Links

• FHSA Career Center
• Calendar of Events
• Call for Volunteers
• FHSA Online Store

The FHSA nominating committee is accepting nominations for its Annual Awards program, which recognizes Head Start and Early Head Start employees, parents, alums, volunteers, and partners who have dedicated their time and talents to Florida's Head Start Community. 

Awards will be given during the FHSA Annual Conference in Orlando on October 1-4, 2024. All nominations should be submitted by June 03. Click the Learn More button below for award details. 

HB 1173/SB1254: Rep. Chaney and Sen. Collins
Dental Therapy Authorizes Medicaid to reimburse for dental services provided by certain mobile dental units; creates Council on Dental Therapy; specifies licensure requirements, services, limitations, & prohibitions relating to practice of dental therapy; requires DOH, in consultation with Board of Dentistry & AHCA, to submit reports to Legislature. (House, Now in Health & Human Services Committee, 02/06/2024) 

HB 541 - Safety of Child Care Facilitates, Rep. Williams
Requires law enforcement agencies to notify child care facilities of certain incidents at nearby schools. (House, 1st Reading, 01/09/2024) 

SB 1562 - Safety of Child Care Facilities, Sen. Powell
Requiring certain law enforcement agencies to notify child care facilities of certain incidents at nearby schools, etc. (Senate, Introduced, 01/10/2024) 

HB 1353 - Early Learning, Rep. Snyder
Revises provisions relating to early learning coalitions & specified early learning programs. (House, Now in PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, 02/01/2024) 

SB 1026 - Early Learning, Sen. Grall

Revising requirements for prekindergarten instructors; prohibiting private prekindergarten provider and public school curricula from using a coordinated screening and progress monitoring program or other specified methods for direct student instruction; revising the percentage of funds an early learning coalition may retain and expend; providing that certain Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program students are eligible to receive instructional support in early literacy skills through a specified program, etc. (Senate, CS/CS by Appropriations Committee on Education; YEAS 7 NAYS 0, 02.08,2024) 

HB 929 - School Readiness Program, Rep. Trabulsy

Revises definition of term "economically disadvantaged" for purposes of school readiness program; & revises provisions relating to school readiness program, early learning coalitions, & DOE (House, 1st Reading, 01/26/2024) 

SB 916, School Readiness Program. Sen. Calatayud (CO-SPONSORS) Perry

Revising requirements for the sliding fee scale for families receiving school readiness program services to include a new method to calculate parent copayments at the time of eligibility determination and annually thereafter, regardless of the number of children; revising requirements for the data elements that must be collected and reported by the Department of Education; revising the method for determining the annual allocation for the school readiness program; deleting a provision relating to certain expenditures from the Gold Seal Quality Care Program allocation, etc. (Senate, Now in Appropriations Committee on Education, 01/17/2024) 

HB 635 - Child Care and Early Learning Providers, Rep. McFarland
Revises positions related to tax credits for corporations providing or paying for child care; licensing standards for child care facilities; child care personnel; minimum standards; child care regulation; & large family child care homes. (House, 1st Reading, 01/23/2024) 

SB 820 - Child Care and Early Learning Providers, Sen. Grall 

Providing an exemption for public and private preschools from specified special assessments levied by a municipality; defining the term “preschool”; authorizing the use of credits against certain taxes beginning on a specified date; providing a limitation on such credits; requiring repayment of tax credits under certain conditions and using a specified formula; revising licensing standards for all licensed child care facilities and minimum standards and training requirements for child care personnel, etc.(Senate, Finance and Tax, 2/7/2024) 

HB 847 - School Readiness Program, Rep. Bartleman (CO-SPONSORS) Woodson

Revises criteria for child to receive priority for participation in school readiness program; provides eligibility requirements for school readiness program provider to receive specified funding. (House, Now in PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, 01/25/2024) 

SB 1400, School Readiness, Sen. Jones

Revising the criteria for a child to receive priority for participation in the school readiness program; providing requirements for a school readiness program provider to be eligible to receive specified funding, etc. (Senate, Introduced, 01/10/2024)

Click the link below to see what legislation NHSA is tracking.