NINOS, Inc. Early Head Start Centers

Early Head Start Centers

The NINOS Early Head Start program started providing center-based services in 1999. The program serves 120 pregnant women, infants, and toddlers at four center sites: Brownsville (Rancho del Cielo EHS); Harlingen (Texas State Technical College EHS); Los Indios (Los Indios EHS); and San Benito (Kenneth Lake EHS). EHS program utilize multiple strategies to provide a wide range of services to participants. Children and families enrolled receive comprehensive services in a center-based setting, supplemented with home visits by the child’s teacher and other EHS staff (a minimum of two home visits a year to each family). Services include child care and development services, comprehensive health and mental health services, parenting education, nutrition education, and family support.

Program Design

Early Head Start focuses on what is known as the Four Cornerstones of high quality program development: Child Development, Family Partnership Development, Staff Training & Development, and Community Involvement. It is these four building blocks that provide the framework for the services offered to families and children.

        1. Child Development: EHS programs must support the physical, social, emotional,
           cognitive, and language development of each child. The services that programs must
           provide directly or through a referral include early-education services in a range of
           developmentally appropriate settings, home visits, parent education and parent-
           child activities, comprehensive health and mental health services, and high-quality
           child care services.

                * Developmental experiences geared to the individual infant/toddler
                * Educational sessions for pregnant women
                * Activities which build self-esteem, social skills, and physical skills
                * Atmosphere which celebrates diversity
                * Denver II Developmental screenings
                * Early Learning Accomplishment Profile (ELAP) Ongoing Assessment

        2. Family Development: Programs must attempt to empower families by developing goals
            for themselves and their children. Staff and parents must develop individualized family
            development plans that focus on the child's developmental needs and the family's
            social and economic needs. The services that programs must provide directly or
            through a referral include child development information; comprehensive health and
            mental health services (including smoking cessation and substance abuse treatment);
            adult education, literacy, and job skills training; assistance in obtaining income support,
            safe housing, or emergency cash; and transportation to program services.

                * Nutritious family-style meals
                * Medical, dental, vision and hearing screenings
                * Identification of medical and dental home
                * Mental health and disability services
                * Health, nutrition, and safety education for children and families

        3. Community Building: Programs are required to conduct an assessment of community
            resources so as to enable them to build a comprehensive network of services and
            supports for pregnant women and families with young children. The goal of this
            network is to increase family access to community support, make the most efficient
            use of limited resources, and improve the service delivery system for all families in the
            community.

                * Parent groups and classes
                * Breastfeeding provisions available at each center site
                * Family counseling
                * Information and referrals to community agencies
                * Opportunities for personal growth, empowerment and leadership
                * Job training and employment programs

        4. Staff Development: EHS staff members must have the capacity to develop caring,
            supportive relationships with both children and families. Ongoing training, supervision,
            and mentoring encompass an interdisciplinary approach and emphasize relationship
            building. Staff development is grounded in established best practices in the areas of
            child development, family development, and community building. EHS programs must
            be committed to continuous improvement, through ongoing training and technical
            assistance provided by the EHS National Resource Center (EHS NRC).

         NINOS Early Head Start program has changed lives and changed families. Mandated to
         assist the "neediest of the needy," Early Head Start program has been dedicated to
         create positive learning environments and foster healthy lifestyles for infants and
         toddlers as well as parents.

SPECIALQUEST

The NINOS Early Head Start Program is actively involved in a project called Special Quest. Special Quest is funded through the Hilton Foundation and the Early Head Start Training Program. This project focuses on enrolling infants and toddlers with significant disabilities into Early Head Start. Currently the Early Head Start program secures 10% of the enrollment spaces (12) for children with disabilities. The Special Quest team meets quarterly to initiate plans that address the needs of families, children, and the child care community in order to better serve children with disabilities and their families. Currently, the following community partners are involved in Special Quest with NINOS Early Head Start – Region I, Easter Seals Early Childhood Intervention, Cameron Workforce (CCMS) and parents.
Our current Action Plans include:

        * Increasing the number of children with significant disabilities enrolled in the program,
        * Providing collaborative training for staff, parents, and the child care community, and
        * Locate available community resources to better serve infant and toddlers with
          disabilities

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