Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Observing and Interacting with Professionals in My Setting
In this interview I meet with the program director for an Easter Seals Early Head Start program. My interest area for my research paper is Affordable Child Care for Middle Income Families. I had mixed information before I asked if this site would be okay to do my obervations in. I knew that Head Start was a free program, however, I did not know exactly to what extent it was free. The first time I went to the site I meet with the Family Support Worker because the director was not in. The Family Support Worker stated that Head Start is a free program, however, it is a free program for only low income families. The Head Start program has lower income guidelines than the child care assistance programs that are funded by the government to the states. Learning that this program that is funded by the government made me feel even more troubled about how limited middle income families have to child care assistance programs. Head Start was originally started as a "School of Readiness" in 1965 and was a half-day program. The Early Head Start program began in 1994 for ages 0-3, to start on focusing on the early years of a child and helping children to have a healthy development. After meeting with the director it was plain to see that this was not the right site for me, the director requested that I go to another Easter Seal's cite that has Head Start, afordable care for cash paying families, and child care assistance. The new site would allow me to get the information needed as I speak to other professionals and families.
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I will be interested to hear about your visit to the new Head Start program. I have never heard of a Head Start program that accepts money, and only know it as a free program for low income. Child Care is expensive and it is hard to come by affordable quality care, it often goes with :you get what you pay for". I taught in a day care for many years, however if I took my children, my paycheck would have disappeared. Instead I chose to have a friend (who needed a job and was in the same spot I was trying to work, access child care, and bring home a pay check)come babysit at my house, and she only charged $20.00 a day. However, she would often call me about 30 minutes before I was to leave for work either saying she was sick or running late. Eventually I switched to 2nd shift to avoid the need for day care. Good luck in your search! Many states (I know Illinois is work on it) are instituting Preschool for All programs, perhaps you could use this is a reference. Also, you could look for centers that work on a sliding pay scale.
ReplyDeleteTyjuana,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to say thanks for taking the time to write on my blog and for giving me great suggestions on topics to write my paper on. With your nudging I decided to research improving school meals. From my research I learned a whole lot about the USDA meal program and the improvements the Obama administration is trying to bring about for our children. Many of the loop holes in the current program are being closed so children can have healthier options at school. There’s still much to do but I’m glad changes are coming. Thank you again for your support this quarter. I wish you the best.
~Carmen Vasquez Mattson