Pennsylvania
Head
Start
State
Collaboration Office 
Welcome to the website for the Pennsylvania
Head Start State Collaboration Office (PA HSSCO).
The PA HSSCO is located at the PA Key in
Harrisburg
, and is funded federally by the Office of Head Start in a grant to the PA Department
of Public Welfare, Office of Child Development and Early Learning.
Nationally,
The Head Start Act establishes the
Collaboration Offices in every state and further designates eight priority areas
in which the Collaboration Office works to facilitate a coordinated approach to
planning and service delivery: Child
Care, Public Education, Children With Special Needs, Family Literacy, Welfare, National
and Community Services, Homelessness, and Health Care. In addition,
Pennsylvania
contributes to the work of the PA HSSCO in order to facilitate coordination with
the early childhood initiatives sponsored by the Office of Child Development.
In
Pennsylvania
,
The purpose of the Head Start-State
Collaboration Office is to create a visible partnership at the state level to support
the development of multi-agency and public/private partnerships. These partnerships
are intended to:
·
Assist in building early childhood systems and access to comprehensive
services and support for all low-income children.
·
Create opportunities for Head Start to partner with state
and local agencies in initiatives that impact children and their families.
·
Facilitate the involvement of Head Start in state and local
policies, plans, processes, and decisions affecting children and families.
4/20/07 - Rep. Harry Readshaw reads to Head Start children
PA HSSCO
Staff:
|
Director:
Sue Mitchell
Chief, Division of Standards and Professional Development, Bureau of Early Learning
Services
Ofc. of Child Development & Early Learning
333 Market Street
, 6h floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
susmitchel@state.pa.us
717-787-7489 phone
717-783-8230 fax
|
Early Childhood Project Manager:
Tracey Campanini
PA Key
301 Market Street, 9th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
tracam@berksiu.org
717-213-2066 phone
717-213-0585 fax
|
The
Pennsylvania Head Start Association (PHSA) – and the PA HSSCO work in partnership
to further the goals of the “Office” as well as those of PHSA.
The Pennsylvania Head Start Association is a non-profit organization actively
involved in improving the lives of families and children, particularly those with
low-income. PHSA functions as an advocacy organization for Head Start programs,
families, staff and administrators in
Pennsylvania
. Leadership from the PA HSSCO and PHSA meet regularly in a variety of settings
in order to keep lines of communication flowing in a positive direction, informing
each other and developing strategies to facilitate the involvement of Head Start
in state and local policies, plans, processes, and decisions affecting low income
children and families.
In addition to PHSA, the PA HSSCO
also maintains active communication and coordinates its activities with those sponsored
by the ACF Region III Head Start Office, particularly in conjunction with the staff
from ICF Caliber who offer support to local Head Start grantees.
Staffs from the PA HSSCO, ICF Caliber, PHSA and the Regional Office meet
three times per year to discuss and strategize coordinated efforts of support for
Head Start grantees and their partners. Click here to visit the PA Head Start Association
website.
Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program:
In addition to federal funds, in
Pennsylvania
, $40 million in state funding for Head Start services is allocated to 48 of the
Head Start grantees to provide services to approximately 5800 children in the Head
Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP).
The PA HSSCO works to assure the effective implementation of this program
as one of the state’s strategies for building early childhood systems and access
to comprehensive services and support for low-income children.
The HSSAP requires that grantees follow the Head Start Performance Standards
when serving state funded children.
In addition, partnerships with child care, public school preschool, and the Intermediate
Units are an integral part of the HSSAP.
This year, the HSSAP grantees are also participating in the states quality Pre-k
initiative: Keystone STARS.
The HSSAP funding is awarded through
the PA Department of Education (PDE) to provide services to additional children
eligible for Head Start (Priority 1) or to extend the amount of services (length
of day, number of days per year) for federally enrolled children (Priority 2). The HSSCO administers the Head Start
State Supplemental Assistance Program through PDE, the PA Key and Berks County Intermediate
Unit.
Check out the PA Department of Education
website
for more information about the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.
Preschool
Program Specialists:
The PA HSSCO extends its work into
the local community Head Start programs and their local partners through the work
of the Early Childhood Regional Coordinators.
These staff members are strategically located in four regions across
Pennsylvania
, allowing for more individualized and direct support for local integration of services
and implementation of state early childhood priorities and initiatives.
The EC Regional Coordinators assist Head Start grantees, school districts
and child care sites in the development and implementation of quality early care
and education systems at the local level.
Western Region:
Central Region:
Southeast Region:
Northeast Region:
Philadelphia:
About Head Start:
Head Start is a national program
administered by the Office of Head Start within the Administration on Children,
Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS). Head Start programs provide comprehensive developmental
services for low-income children from birth to entry into elementary school.
Head Start is currently funded at
over $6.8 billion and serves more than 906,000 low-income children and families
nationwide. The program is child-centered, family-focused, comprehensive, and community-based.
Head Start services are designed to address developmental goals for children, employment
and self-sufficiency goals for adults, and support for parents in their work and
child-caring roles.
Head Start is a direct federal-to-local
program administered by over 1,600 locally based public or private organizations,
called "grantees," across the country.
In
Pennsylvania
, 27 Early Head Start grantees provide services to 2,398 children age birth up to
age 3 years. Children age 3 to entry
into elementary school receive Head Start services from 61 grantee agencies. Federal funds provide for 28,493 children
to receive Head Start Services.
For more information about Head Start
visit:
U.S. Department of Health & Human Service Website or
PA Head Start Association
IMPORTANT WEB SITES:
Find out more about
Pennsylvania’s Department of Education Initiatives for Early Childhood
PA Pre-K Counts Grant Information: New in 2007-2008 a public investment of $75 million
allocated to eligible providers (Head Starts, School Districts, Licensed Nursey
Schools and Child Care participating in Keystone STARS at a STAR 2 or greater) to
offer high quality pre-kindergarten. Click here for more information.
PDE Accountability Block Grant Information:
Pennsylvania
’s school districts allocated approximately
$15 million to pre-k for 2006-07 through the Accountability Block Grants (ABG) Click here for more information.
Also, for information about early
childhood usage: Click here.
Pennsylvania Department of Education, Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program
Information:
$40 million of state funding to provide
Head Start services to children and families in
Pennsylvania.More information can be found by clicking here.
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Office of Child Development & Early
Learning:
The Office of Child Development & Early
Learning promotes
opportunities for all
Pennsylvania
children and families by building systems and providing supports that help ensure
access to high quality child and family services through the Bureau of Certification
Services, the Bureau of Early Learning Services, and the Bureau of Subsidy Services. More information can be found on The PA Department of Education website or on The PA Department of Public Welfare website.
PA Key:
The PA Key is committed to unlocking
the Keys of excellence through its quality improvement program in which all early
learning programs and practitioners are encouraged and supported to improve child
outcomes. Visit the PA Key website for statewide Early Childhood Professional Development Opportunities
Keystone STARS:
An initiative of the Office of Child
Development to improve, support and recognize the continuous quality improvement
efforts of early learning programs in Pennsylvania through Standards, Training/Professional
Development, Assistance, Resources, and Support.
http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/Child/ChildCare/KeyStoneStarChildCare/
Other important sites to
visit:
Pennsylvania
Head Start Association:
PHSA functions as an advocacy organization
for Head Start programs, families, staff and administrators in
Pennsylvania
.
http://www.paheadstart.org/
Berks County
Intermediate Unit:
Berks
County
Intermediate Unit (BCIU) provides programs and services to public school districts,
nonpublic schools, and other human service organizations of
Berks County, Pennsylvania
. BCIU is also a liaison agent between the schools and the Pennsylvania Department
of Education. BCIU serves as the fiscal
agent for the PA Key, the PA HSSCO, and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.
http://www.berksiu.org/
PNC Grow Up Great:
PNC Grow Up Great is a ten-year,
$100 million investment in preparing young children, from birth to age five, for
school and life — so that an entire generation won't just grow up... but grow up
great.
http://www.pncgrowupgreat.com/
US Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start:
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families funds the Office of Head Start (OHS). All information regarding Head Start and Early Head Start can be found on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center website. This includes announcements, resources and program performance standards.
National Head Start Association:
The National Head Start Association
is a private not-for-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to meeting
the needs of Head Start children and their families.
The Association provides support for the entire Head Start community by advocating
for policies that strengthen services to Head Start children and their families;
by providing extensive training and professional development to Head Start staff;
and by developing and disseminating research, information, and resources that enrich
Head Start program delivery.
http://www.nhsa.org/
National Head Start Family Literacy Center
:
The National Head Start Family Literacy
Center (NHSFLC) provides training and technical assistance to Head Start programs
to improve the quality and positive outcomes of their family literacy efforts.
http://www.sonoma.edu/cihs/familyliteracy/
QUILT:
QUILT
is a national training
and technical assistance project originally funded by the federal
Head Start and Child Care Bureaus in September 1998 and continued
since August 2003 with support from the federal Child Care Bureau.
QUILT’s mission is providing partnership expertise to build and support (1)
full-day/year-round comprehensive services for children; (2) collaborative efforts
among child care, Head Start/Early Head Start, and prekindergarten programs around
activities such as early literacy, professional development, and health/mental health
services; and (3) cross-system work at State, Regional, Tribal, and National levels
to promote early learning for all children.
http://www.nccic.org/quilt/
Zero to Three:
National Center
for Infants, Toddlers, and Families:
ZERO TO THREE's mission is to support
the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers and their families.
It is a national, nonprofit, multidisciplinary
organization that advances its mission by informing, educating and supporting adults
who influence the lives of infants and toddlers.
http://www.zerotothree.org