Head Start/Early Head Start of Beaver County, a program of the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc., is proud to serve the community and partner with four Daycare centers in the area. The daycare centers we have the pleasure of working with are Noah’s Ark Daycare, Haynes Family Daycare, Rhyming Thyme Daycare and Precious Tots Daycare. Throughout the year we collaborate with our daycare partners to build relationships with enrolled families so that they feel safe and comfortable to form connections with their child as they enter the classroom. In addition to working with the children in our program, we also are building relationships with the entire EHS family that will carry on until the child transitions into Head Start. We provide services to working families and it is a beneficial collaboration that we have with our daycare partners. We work well together and are continuously working to make new and exciting adjustments to better both programs. One of the main things we focus on is making sure our Early Head Start program benefits the families we serve as well as assisting our daycare partners with increasing the enrollment at their daycares.
In Beaver County, we have many daycares that need support and assistance in providing good quality service for all children. We currently partner with just four outstanding daycares and work to increase the number of families we serve. The best way to encourage families to enroll is through our pre-application process. We have worked hard to begin that process at the first meeting. Working with the daycares to get them to understand the importance of reaching out to the families during their first meeting has been a success. The pre-application process is the first step in building a relationship with the families. During this step, we are able to introduce the program and all the benefits we provide. Our partners have embraced this and encourage their families to be a part of the Head start experience.
Each time a pre-application is completed the daycare provider and the Child Care Partnership Coordinator are in the process of making a connection with a family. Through phone calls and home visits the families are able to gain knowledge on education, health, and resources that we provide. One of the biggest bonuses to the process is we gain the trust of the families. Every daycare provider assists in bridging the connection between Early Head Start and the family. When we all work together the information we provide is useful and our families are successful. They enjoy the connection and look forward to sending their child to school.
