Charles A. Smith
Interim National Program Leader, Human Development
Extension Service-USDA
Copyright/Access Information
Effective collaboration depends on an understanding and appreciation
of organizational cultures, including the structure, goals, strengths,
and weaknesses of potential organizational partners. Organizations
that can compliment each other's strengths, offset each other's
weaknesses, and
pool resources to achieve common goals are likely to achieve more
than what they might accomplish alone. Head Start and the Extension
System are obviously quite different in how they are funded and
structured. They do, however, have significant common goals that
are more likely to be achieved through collaboration. This brief
report provides an overview of Head Start for Extension educators
at county, state, and federal levels who would like to begin or
strengthen a partnership with Head Start.
Since its inception in 1965 as a comprehensive child development
program, Head Start has served more than thirteen million low-income
children and their families through the provision of education,
health, social services, parent involvement, and disability services.
Head Start began in the spirit of experimental social reform,
a national laboratory of the very best and most innovative in
child and family services. The program is located in the Department
of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and
Families. It is found in all 50 states, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Outer Pacific Islands, and
in nearly 150 Tribal Nations. A detailed set of Head Start Program
Performance Standards is the principle vehicle for
monitoring Head Start's quality.
Federal funds allocated to Head Start flow directly to community
agencies on a grant application basis. In 1993 Head Start was
able to serve approximately 721,000 children and their families
through a network of more than 2,000 grantees and delegate agencies
operating some 36,300 classrooms and over 600 home-based programs.
To be eligible for Head Start a child must be living in a family
whose income is below the federal poverty line, $14,350 for a
family of four as of August, 1994. The majority of Head Start
children are from single-parent families. Sixty-three percent
are four years old; 27 % are three years old, 3 % under three
years of age, and 7 % are five years old. A minimum of 10 % must
be children with disabilities. The racial/ethnic composition of
the program nationally is 36 % African American, 33 % Caucasian,
24 % Hispanic, 4 % Native American, and 3 % Asian.
Extension educators who wish to collaborate with Head Start
should keep four key characteristics in mind:
1. Head Start is for families, not just for young children.
From its very beginning, Head Start has had a family focus. Parent
involvement is a critical and integral part of Head Start. "Head
Start's vision for parent involvement is to create and sustain
an environment of partnership and collaboration across all elements
of the Head Start Program which: supports parents as primary educators,
nurturers and advocates; assures that every parent has an opportunity
for a significant experience in Head Start; and, assures the policy
making role of parents which is the foundation of Head Start's
unique success" (Head Start Parent Involvement: Vision, Opportunities,
and
Strategies, 1993, p. 1). Performance standards of potential interest
to Extension educators include:
2. The focus in Head Start is on family strengths. Parents
and children are valued and respected. Every parent is encouraged
to contribute by becoming involved in the Head Start program.
A sense of family belonging and safety is part of the historical
fabric of Head Start. With its diversity of programs throughout
the country, Head Start is clearly a multicultural program.
3. Head Start views itself as a potential resource to the community.
Head Start programs develop leadership and advocacy in parents.
Successful programs encourage parents to become involved in their
communities, to translate the self-confidence they gain in Head
Start by working to make their communities a better place for
families.
4. Head Start is primarily decentralized with limited federal
involvement in grantee programs. Local programs operate with
budgets that are eighty percent federal dollars and twenty percent
a required non-federal match. Because of the emphasis on local
control and
parent involvement, Head Start is characterized by a strong sense
of loyalty by those involved in the program.
In creating a 21st Century Head Start the Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion made three recommendations, the first emphasizing excellence, the second, expansion and the third, partnerships.
Increasing parent involvement is one of the steps to expanding to better meeting the needs of children and families. "The 1993 Head Start Improvement Act included a provision which requires every Head Start agency to provide parents of children participating in the program with child development and literacy skill training in order to help their children reach their full potential." (p. 43)
In terms of partnerships, the committee affirmed that "We must encourage Head Start to forge partnerships with key community and state institutions and programs in early childhood, family support, health, education and mental health, and we must ensure that these partnerships are constantly renewed and recrafted to fit changes in families, communities, and state and national policies." (p. 23)
Expansion also includes moving to full day and full year services (an obvious need for working parents) and serving families with younger children. Transition Projects, model programs that establish effective transitions from the Head Start classroom to elementary school, are also a priority.
Head Start and Extension have much to gain from a collaboration.
Our two organizations have sufficient similarity to make them
compatible. We both seek to strengthen families, we both emphasize
local control and involvement, we both have respect for the potential
contributions of
parents participating in our programs, and we both value diversity.
Extension can benefit from a collaboration with Head Start
by gaining access to frequently underrepresented audiences for
its educational programs. Motivated parents could be invited to
serve on program development committees that provide community
oversight to Extension
programming. We can learn from Head Start parents and staff about
the needs of low-income children and families.
Head Start can use Extension resources to help parents learn
about parenting, family finance, and
childhood nutrition. Because of their familiarity with county
government and expertise in leadership development, Extension
educators can help nurture the types of advocacy skills in parents
so valued by Head Start. In some locations, Extension could provide
significant parent education services for Head Start programs.
In addition, county and state Extension offices can often provide
access to a variety of electronic databases focusing on children
and families. Extension's National Network on Child Care, for
example, could help connect Head Start
programs to expertise throughout the System.
Collaboration could be nurtured at both the local and federal
levels. ES-USDA professionals could meet with Head Start Bureau
professionals to keep them informed of new programs and materials
of potential interest to their grantees, teachers, and parents.
Joint projects of mutual benefit could be initiated. At the local
level, county Extension educators could work with Head Start directors
in their area to explore how Extension resources (materials and
people) could be of benefit to the Head Start program.
Head Start and Extension collaboration is not a new concept. For
example, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, the Head Start grantee recently
collaborated with the University of Wisconsin Extension to offer
a Family Time program to Head Start families. A pre- and post-test
assessment was designed by Extension, the results to be used by
the Head Start project's evaluation team. Many other Extension
educators throughout the United States are working closely with
their Head Start programs. With encouragement and a better understanding
of their Head Start partner, such collaboration could expand and
become even more effective.
Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion, Creating
a 21st
Century Head Start. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health
and
Human Services, 1993.
Kracke, K., Head Start Parent Involvement: Vision, Opportunities
and
Strategies. Washington, D.C.: The Head Start Bureau, 1993.
Zigler, E. and Muenchow, S. Head Start: The Inside Story of America's
Most Successful Educational Experiment. New York: BasicBooks,
1992.
I would like to thank Karen DeBord of the University of Missouri
Cooperative Extension Service and Frankie Gibson of the Head Start
Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, for their suggestions
for improving this publication.