It's officially summer! The summer months offer many opportunities for exploration and play in outdoor learning environments. With proper planning, early care, and education, staff can ensure that children can take advantage of these experiences and enjoy the summer months safely. Check out the Summer Safety Tips from Head Start ECLKC below.

The 2019 hurricane season is upon us and based on forecasts this years season is expected to be an active one. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th. The forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts we will see between 9 and 15 named storms this season, with about half of those developing into hurricanes, and perhaps up to four of those developing into significant hurricanes of category 3 or higher.

Head Start programs should take hurricane preparedness and recovery planning very seriously. Having learned from storms from recent histories, such as Michael, Matthew, and Irma, Head Start continues to refine and strengthen preparedness and recovery plans. Check out the Emergency Preparedness Manual for Early Childhood Programs. Programs can use this manual as a guide for their emergency planning process. Find the latest tools and resources to support children, families, and communities before, during, and after an emergency.

The Office of Head Start launched a new project to bridge the gap between early education and public K-12 school systems. Florida Collaboration Director, Nacole Guyton and our leaders from Hillsborough County Head Start/Early Head Start programs were selected to participate in this project. You can read more about this initiative below.

Self-nominations are still being accepted to the FHSA Board of Directors until August 1, 2019. This is your opportunity to make a difference in YOUR State Head Start Association and be part of the leadership that moves the association forward. Visit this webpage for more details about open positions and the nominations process.

Don't forget to R.S.V.P. your attendance to FHSA Directors Affiliate Group meeting coming up on July 17 in Tampa. Deadline is July 9. We look forward to seeing all next month. If your programs Directors can't attend, feel free to send someone in your place to this meeting as we have a full agenda you don't want to miss.

Registration is now open for FHSA 2nd cohort in our Family Services Credential Program, SSCBT. In conjunction with this training, we will also host our Fall Leadership Training and Annual Awards Luncheon. All of these events will be held the week of October 7-11, 2019 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach, FL. For more details about these events, click here.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.

In Partnership,

Wanda Minick
Executive Director
FHSA

Updates from the Office of Head Start

Dr. Bergeron Summer Vlog: Resetting for the Coming Year

In this edition, Dr. B starts with her love note to a former Head Start alumni from RCMA Head Start in Florida, Ms. Brenda Alavrez-Laguna. She was the valedictorian at Mulberry Senior High School. Way to go! In the video, she encourages Head Start leaders to re-energize their staff before the new school year and share your fun ideas using #HSMotivators on Twitter.

Dr. B highlights Head Start priorities as programs prepare for the fall.

Home at Head Start Campaign
Enrolling children who are experiencing homelessness
Site-level leadership
Developing stronger connections with public schools

You can check it all out in her summer vlog by clicking here.

New Head Start project bridges gap between early education and public school

The Office of Head Start (OHS) at HHS’ Administration for Children and Families will bring together leaders from school districts and Head Start programs from across the country on June 24 and 25 to address the need for better coordination between Head Start and K-12 education. Comprehensive early childhood education like Head Start programs can prepare children for kindergarten, but children’s continued success requires the support of teachers and leaders in their next school environment.

“Head Start programs and the elementary schools our children will go to should work together to sustain the gains children have made. I believe the folks who show up daily to run Head Start programs can directly impact how children are prepared for life beyond Head Start—most typically, public school kindergarten,” said Dr. Deborah Bergeron, director of OHS. Click here to read this article in its entirety.

Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness

Enhance your knowledge around family homelessness and the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act's definition of "homeless" as it refers to children and youth. Learn how to identify families experiencing homelessness, conduct community outreach, and much more. Knowledge checks, practice scenarios, and interactive learning modules will help deepen your understanding of family homelessness. Each module takes approximately 30 minutes to complete, depending on your level of experience. When you finish all sections of the module, download your Certificate of Completion.

Click here to learn more about this learning series!

Summer Safety Tips for Early Care and Education Programs

Find tips and resources on learning weather limits. Learn more about applying sunscreen and insect repellent, staying hydrated, and playground and water safety. Early care and education programs can share these tips with families.

Four Federal Register notices all from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation.

1. Head Start Connects: Individualizing and Connecting Families to Family Support Services.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks approval to conduct semi-structured, qualitative interviews with Head Start staff, parents/guardians, and community providers at six Head Start programs for case studies that explore case management and coordination of family support services. Click here for the full text.

2. Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High-Quality Early Care and Education: Field Test (0970-0499)

This information request is part of the project, Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High-Quality Early Care and Education (ECE-ICHQ). The project's goal is to create a technically sound and feasible instrument that will provide consistent, systematic measures of the implementation and costs of education and care in center-based settings that serve children from birth to age 5. The resulting measures will inform research, policy, and practice by improving understanding of variations in what centers do to support quality, their associated costs, and how resources for ECE may be better aligned with expectations for quality. Click here for the full text.

3. Survey of Head Start Grantees on Training and Technical Assistance

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks approval to conduct a statistically representative survey of directors and managers/coordinators from Head Start grantee organizations regarding their access to and use of training and technical assistance (T/TA) from multiple sources, including ACF's Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance system. The purpose of the data collection is to inform ACF on three aspects of grantee directors, and managers/coordinators T/TA experience: (1) Search, and selection of T/TA; (2) receipt of T/TA; (3) and potential relationships between T/TA received and perceived change in practice. Click here for the full text.

4. Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency Next Generation

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requests Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to modify the previously approved pilot generic clearance (0970-0502) to collect data as part of rapid-cycle testing and evaluation, in order to inform the design of interventions informed by behavioral science and to better understand the mechanisms and effects of such interventions. Interventions have been and will continue to be developed in the program area domains of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child welfare, and this Revision would also allow for the collection of data in the Early Head Start/Head Start program area. These interventions are intended to improve outcomes for participants in these programs. Click here for the full text.

Examining State Early Childhood Education Programs

Each year, millions of children age 5 and under participate in publicly funded early care and education (ECE) services. The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently released a report that examined the characteristics of state ECE programs, including the extent to which they share characteristics or overlap with federal or other state programs; and how states fund their ECE programs, including any related benefits and challenges reported by states. The report can be found here.

FHSA will hold it's Fall Leadership Training October 10-11, 2019 in Daytona Beach, FL at the Hard Rock Hotel. This training event will feature two educational workshops: Program Governance Training and Identifying, Assessing, and Managing Risk. Attendees will be able to select which training they will be attending during the registration process. After the training, we hope you will join us in recognizing FHSA state awards winners at our Annual Awards Luncheon. Tickets may be purchased in conjunction with your training or separately. Click here to visit the event's webpage.

SSCBT Registration Now Open!

FHSA and HSSCO present its 2nd cohort of the SSCBT training class on October 7-11, 2019 in Daytona Beach, FL at the Hard Rock Hotel. This curriculum is structured to align with the Head Start and Early Head Start Relationship-Based Competencies for Staff and Supervisors who work with families. This course offers expanded sections on critical areas that are vital to Head Start services.

Target Audience:

Family Service Workers
Case Managers
Home Visitors
Teachers
Health Services Staff
Community Workers

Upon successful completion, participates will receive an industry-recognized Social Services certification from Tennessee State University. Click here to view the webpage of the event for registration details.

What's Happening Around the State

Paradise Head Start receives $2,500 Donation

Paradise Head Start received a $2,500 donation in books from the First Book and DD's Discounts for the programs Head Start Home-School Reading project. This reading project was a great success last year. Children had lending libraries in the classroom, established an honor system library which teaches character; how to borrow; return books and being honest all while encouraging reading. Paradise Head Start gives families books to keep at home to enrich their home reading library. Every child deserves a book, and thanks to First Book, and DD's Discount, Paradise' Head Start children will enjoy another year of this fantastic literacy enrichment.

Episcopal Achieve Awards

Episcopal Children's Services recently honored twelve teachers, staff members, volunteers and parents at their Head Start/Early Head Start Achieve Awards ceremony. FHSA would like to congratulate all of this year award winners who take the time to make the difference to the children and families Episcopal Children's Services serves. To view a complete listing of award winners, click here.

Orange County Head Start Curriculum Specialist trains abroad in Italy!

Orange County Head Start Curriculum Specialist and FHSA Region IV Board Representative Vidya Deonarine was selected to attend a State of the Art International Trip to Italy for Professional Development! Vidya, along with a team of 13 Early Childhood Educators and Advocates participated in visiting the Reggio Emilia school of Italy.

The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education views young children as individuals who are curious about their world and have the powerful potential to learn from all that surrounds them. As an Orange County Head Start Curriculum Specialist and lover of all things Early Childhood Education, Vidya found that The Reggio Emelia Approach is this profound way of teaching that minimizes behavioral issues in the classroom and strengthens children’s attention span. Click here to read more.

PBC Children Benefit from Lutheran Services Florida’s Head Start Program

Source: Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County

June 28, 2019, Boynton Beach – Palm Beach County children in Lutheran Services Florida’s Head Start Program, which is partially funded by Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, performed better than their peers on kindergarten readiness tests for the past two years, according to an analysis CSC staff shared with the Council’s board on Thursday, June 27.

The analysis showed that in the 2016-2017 school year, 90 percent of children in LSF’s Head Start Program scored ready for kindergarten (using the Work Sampling System assessment), compared to 85 percent of children who didn’t attend LSF’s Head Start Program. In 2017-2018, the state of Florida changed its kindergarten readiness assessment to STAR Early Literacy, a computer-based literacy test. In that year, 46 percent of LSF Head Start children scored ready for kindergarten, compared to 41 percent of a matched comparison group. Click here to read this article in its entirety.

There is still time to register to attend the 2019 One Goal Summer Conference July 17-19 in Tampa at the Hilton Tampa Downtown. This conference brings together over 900 early education and care providers and leaders from around the state. It is designed to share information on best practices in the field and to build common frameworks of knowledge and understanding to assist in unified planning for young children and their families.

This year's conference is filled with motivating, high energy speakers leaving you renewed and energized! Download the conference program here.

Conference fees are only $75 per person. When securing your registration, don't forget to book your hotel reservations early to guarantee availability and conference rates. The last two years, the room block has sold out before our cutoff date.

Questions or need assistance registering, please call the Conference office at (850) 893-6270.

Updates from NHSA

NHSA will launch a Families Unite Campaign to engage Head Start families in building lasting relationships with their members of Congress. This campaign will kick off August 1 and continue through October 2019. Watch your inboxes for more details.

Head Start Cheers House Passage of Robust Funding Bill

Bill Includes $750 Million to Aid Head Start in Addressing Surge in Childhood Trauma

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Head Start Association (NHSA) today applauded Head Start’s champions in the U.S. House of Representatives for passing legislation to increase Head Start funding in the fiscal year 2020 (FY20) by more than $1.5 billion. At the urging of NHSA and the Head Start community, the bill includes $750 million to equip Head Start programs with additional training in trauma-informed care and provides access to increased mental health services for children and families. The bill also enables programs to adjust staffing levels to counteract the challenges of drug addiction, community violence, displacement, and other forms of extreme trauma. Click here to read NHSA press release in its entirety.

Join NHSA in Indianapolis, Indiana as they will be hosting their Early Childhood Innovation Summit July 22-24 and a Manager & Directors Academy July 22 - 25, 2019.

The Early Childhood Innovation Summit is to disseminate new ideas, processes, and technologies to drive quality in early childhood development and education. Check out the session descriptions and schedule here. Register for the summit by clicking here.

The 2019 Manager and Director Academy will explore the five-year grant cycle, starting from building a strong foundation with the grant-writing process, to setting goals and uniting your team to execute them.

Check out the Academy's session schedule, and then make sure to reserve your spot!

Employment Opportunities

Director of Finance| Lutheran Services of Florida, West Palm Beach, FL

VPK Specialist | Episcopal Children’s Services, Jacksonville, FL

Regional Manager | Children's First, FL

>>> See More Job Openings

FHSA 2019 Corporate Partners