Southwestern Minnesota Opportunity Council

Early Head Start

Home visiting or center-based services and programs for low-income families with infants and toddlers that support child development, parenting skills and self-sufficiency

Description

Early Head Start helps families with infants, toddler and pregnant women prepare for success. Programs promote children's development through services that support early learning, health, and family well-being.

The program helps with physical, cognitive, social and emotional development while being responsive to ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds.

Services vary in each local community and may include:

• Evidence-based home visiting
• Center-based or Family Child Care options in some local communities
• Socialization experiences for children and their families
• Leadership, advocacy, and training supports for families
• Coordination with public schools and Early Childhood Special Education

The goal is to deliver services to children and families in core areas of early learning, health, and family well-being while engaging parents as partners every step of the way.

Local Head Start services are delivered by public and private nonprofit and for-profit agencies supported by local, state, and federal funding.

Features

• Organization Type
  • Community Action Partnership

• Payment
  • Free / no cost to eligible clients

• Specialization
  • People with low income

Eligibility

The Health and Human Services (HHS) Poverty Guidelines are used to determine income eligibility for participation in Early Head Start programs.

• Pregnant women and children birth - age 3 who are from families with incomes below the poverty guidelines
• Children in families who are experiencing homelessness
• Families receiving public assistance such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Foster children are eligible regardless of their foster family's income

Local programs may determine additional selection criteria to be responsive to community needs.

Fee

No cost to participating families