Module 2-Focusing on Observing and Talking with Professionals

• Whom you observed and interacted with in your setting during these two weeks
• During this visit I got the opportunity to speak with the director of an Easter Seals Early Head Start program. As I explained to the director what topic my paper was about, she wondered why I would be interested in doing my obervations at her site. She stated that Early Head Start works directly with low income families and one has to meet certain criteria to get into her program. All this time I thought that Head Start was a free program, hoever, it is not. It is only a free program for low income families and one has to be above or at the poverty level to qualify for the program. The facility was very nice and the classrooms were warm and inviting. The center is located next to a school and has plenty of space. The director pointed me to another Easter Seals who caters to middle and low income families. She emailed the designated person who I could speak with. Thinking that this would delay my observations, I delighfully accepted her request to speak with someone else.

• Any special learning experiences, insights, challenges, etc., related to your topics/focus questions and/or advocacy efforts in this setting, the community, and/or the field
• I learned from this visit that Head Start has lower income guidelines than what the state may require for thier child care assistance program. The early head start program started for children from the ages of 0-3 in 1994. The progarm offers absolutely nothing for middle income families. One challenge that I could see is that middle class families are limited to either little or no assistance with child care programs. So I wondered exactly what is going to be beneficial to my research paper.