Service Area
The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) provided services through contractual delegate agreements with six agencies in Illinois, serving the entire state and three counties of Indiana. The delegate agencies providing services July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 were:
- Del Valle Migrant Head Start, in Oswego
- Rainbow Learning, in Kankakee and Sheldon
- Princeville CUSD #326, in Princeville
- Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House, in East St. Louis
- Migrant Education, in Cobden
Funding
The Head Start program was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, and supported by the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Family and Community Services and by Illinois General Revenue through the Bureau of Quality Initiatives. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses meal costs through the Child and Adult Care Food Program, administered by the Illinois State Board of Education.
| Funding Source |
Amount |
Percent of Total Budget |
| HHS/ACF/OHS |
$3,189,573 |
83% |
| Illinois General Revenue |
$596,156 |
15% |
| USDA |
$79,511 |
2% |
Budget Information
Ninety-five percent of the total federal budget is allocated to delegate program operations, under the line item 6.f. contractual. Non-federal share is raised through General Revenue and agency and private donations of goods, and services.
| Line Item |
Federal Proposed Budget |
Expenditures |
Percentage Spent |
| Salaries |
$53,210 |
$0 |
0.00% |
| Fringe Benefits |
$56,810 |
$0 |
0.00% |
| Travel |
$11,720 |
$7,012. |
59.83% |
| Equipment |
$0 |
$0 |
0.00% |
| Supplies |
$0. |
$0 |
0.00% |
| Contractual Delegates |
$3,027,808. |
$2,927,161 |
96.68% |
| Other Contractual |
$40,025 |
$35,573 |
88.88% |
| Total |
$3,189,573 |
$2,969,746 |
93.11% |
| Line Item |
GRF Proposed Budget |
Expenditures |
Percentage Spent |
| Salaries |
$223,462.00 |
$243,859.00 |
0.00% |
| Fringe Benefits |
$152,992.00 |
$206,212.00 |
0.00% |
| Travel |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
| Equipment |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
| Supplies |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
0.00% |
| Contractual Delegates |
$207,762.00 |
$203,491.00 |
97.94% |
| Other contractual |
$11,940.00 |
$27,181.00 |
0.00% |
| Total |
$596,156.00 |
$680,743.00 |
114.19% |
Enrollment
Centers operate on schedules that accommodate parents' work hours and weeks: from eight weeks in one location to seven months in another. In fiscal year 2020, the program's Spring enrollment was impacted by COVID-19 and only served a total of 295 children from 201 families. A total of 29 children with disability service plans: 17-IFSP and 12-IEPs, were enrolled by the end of November 15, 2020. The average monthly enrollment was only 27.24%.
Audits
The audit of IDHS had no findings related to the Head Start program. Independent audits of each of the delegates found no material weaknesses.
Medical and Dental Examinations
Medical
Two hundred thirty-one children received their physical examination. These included screenings for tuberculosis, height and weight, hemoglobin, lead ,and vaccines. The reason children that did not receive a physical and/or all screenings was due to leaving the center within 30 days of enrollment.
All delegates followed the EPSDT schedule from Illinois. Migrant and Seasonal Program uses COPA: CHILD OUTCOME, PLANNING & ADMINISTRATION which facilitates the downloading of health reports to quickly monitor the number of children that have services completed according to the EPSDT schedule.
Dental
Of the total children ages 3 - 5, 173 had the formal exam completed, as required by head start to have a formal dental exam by a profession dentist. These children also had cleaning and fluoride treatment completed. Children that did not complete the exam were enrolled less than 30 days.
Children under 3 years old have their dental screening during their well-child exam. Screenings for this age group is counted in the Program Information Reports (PIR) in the section for infants and toddlers.
Parent Involvement Activities
Each delegate agency elected a Parent Policy Committee, which made decisions at the local level, and sent representatives to the state-wide Policy Council. Throughout the working season, the Council meets monthly in Springfield to carry out the shared governance of the program with the IDHS Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Advisory Board. Parents take part in planning goals and objectives for program improvement and approve the federal funding application.
Programs offered activities and education based on families' interests, and requirements of the Office of Head Start including sessions on:
- Parenting Curriculum
- G.E.D. instruction
- English as a second language classes
- Substance-abuse prevention
- Money management information
- Intergenerational literacy sessions
- Prevention of child abuse and domestic violence training.
When they enroll, parents fill out a needs assessment and training survey, which the Family Service Worker (FSW) uses to determine social service needs and parent training interests. The FSW sets priorities for social service referrals and together create a parent-education plan for the season, outlining workshops, classes and materials to supply the parents. There are some parents who are unable to read and write in their first language, mostly Spanish, but not many have elected to take literacy courses.
In 2019, ten percent of the parents had some college education. Twenty-four percent have a high school diploma or completed a GED. However, 66% percent did not have a HS diploma and of those; 36% had less than a ninth-grade education and 17% no high school education at all.
Follow-up home visits are done at least monthly-principally done in the evenings, or when both parents are not working. Delegates offer a variety of opportunities to encourage parent engagement which include volunteer opportunities, educational workshops, parent-support group activities, adult learning classes, family-literacy activities, and parent committees. All events must be held at an hour when most mothers and fathers are not working-for most centers, this means evenings. Delegates that have parents that are canning/factory shift-workers will ideally hold two similar events, or if that is not possible, then they alternate time frames each month.
During the season, three delegates and the partnership use the Be Strong Families Parent Curriculum and provide monthly "Parent Café", and one delegate continues to use "Abriendo Puertas" (open doors) Parent Curriculum. The two parents that have been trained to conduct the "Parent Café's" in Migrant Education, facilitated the parent sessions in that center. Results: One hundred percent of parents who attended returned positive evaluations of these sessions, however, in one center attendance to Parent Cafés have significantly decreased from previous years. New strategies to encourage parent participation will be used, including revamping sessions so that they are more appealing.
All programs referred parents who wished to study to ESL and GED classes in their communities. One parent completed his GED this past season and another is almost done; one parent registered and completed a course on phycology, and another is currently enrolled in a nursing degree program; 12 parents are currently enrolled in ESL classes and 2 in GED classes; One parent completed her food handler's certificate so she can volunteer in classrooms during lunch times; and, another parent obtained the Illinois Level One ECE credential to be considered for a position once one opens.
Illinois Migrant Head Start programs have worked diligently to build strong collaborative relationships with the local agencies and community organizations over the past 30 years. Together, there is a coordination of efforts to serve the farmworker families in the shared communities. Over the years, the local agencies who serve the families have come to recognize that strong community partnerships benefit all involved. Last summer local churches assisted in collecting furniture, kitchen supplies and clothing for a family recently migrating to the area. The family had migrated from Mexico and was held in a detainment camp in Arizona before arriving to the area and came with nothing. The staff mobilized and their community's response was overwhelming; providing the family with all they needed.
Teachers visit parents at home to discuss learning goals for their children and send school readiness instructional activities regularly for parents to do at home with their children. During the season, teachers keep parents informed of their children's progress through parent conferences and "Notitas".
Education Services
Teaching staff qualifications
Sixty-seven percent of the preschool teachers have an Early Childhood or related degree Baccalaureate degree, and 33% have an Early Childhood Associates degree. Fifty-eight percent of Infant/Toddler teachers exceed the minimum CDA requirement for this age level and have either a baccalaureate or associate degree. One-hundred percent of Education Coordinators have a baccalaureate degree or higher.
The rate of turnover is approximately 8% per season, far less than other like-agencies in the state, however the positions that are vacated are almost always qualified teaching staff. Several very qualified and extraordinary teachers left this program due to their need for retirement and health benefits.
Coaching
All delegates are offering PBC Coaching to their staff and they also offer Coaching using MyTeachstone--staff have choice of coaching method. In 2019 six teaching staff received PBC with a median of 8 coaching hours each. Five staff chose MyTeachstone for their coaching program. Teaching staff using MyTeachstone completed an average of 3 hours of coaching with an additional six-hour average of self-directed study. Coaches using MyTeachstone completed an average of 3 hours of recommended coaching with an additional five-hour average of self-directed study. Overall staff and supervisors where content with the results, of either method.
CLASS observations and Fidelity classroom observations were two of the tools used to evaluate the effectiveness of the coaching staff received. Other methods to measure the effectiveness of the coaching included: Teachers' performance while working with children (observations done by supervisor, director, and coach); lesson plans; and, verbal feedback from the teachers receiving the coaching.
Curricula
Illinois Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (IMSHS) use the Creative Curriculum® for Infants, Toddlers & Twos in its Infant toddler classrooms and Creative Curriculum® for Preschoolers in its Preschool classrooms. Curricula chosen by IMSHS contain both resources guiding interest area and room preparation as well as instructional content reflecting the most current research. Both curricula have been recognized to meet the HSPPS and are evidence-based early childhood curricula which include empirically based scope and sequences grounded in developmental theory.
Delegates complement the curricula with the following: to support the children's language development, the teaching staff will use Planned Language Approach strategies-particularly the Big Five-for all children; to support fitness and healthy development, the teaching staff will use strategies from "I am Learning, I am moving"; and, to support self-discipline the teaching staff will use "Positive Discipline" strategies.
Education Coordinators do monthly classroom observations to evaluate that Creative Curriculum® for Infants, Toddlers & Twos and Creative Curriculum® for Preschoolers Curriculum are implement with fidelity in each classroom. Results are analyzed and used to plan the appropriate course work; training, coaching, and/or technical assistance for staff development.
Parents give input into the curricula by participating in the Education Committee.
Screening and Assessment
Ages and Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ) developmental screening are used to identify concerns in children's development and ASQ-SE is used for the identification of social-emotional challenges. Both ASQ and ASQ-SE have been studied extensively and these show high reliability, internal consistency, sensitivity, and specificity.
Galileo® G-3 Assessments are used in all the classrooms to assess children's developmental levels and ongoing progress. The assessments are aligned to the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (HSELOF), Illinois Early Learning Standards and Illinois Birth-to-Three Early Learning Guidelines.
Galileo® G-3 Assessment Scales
There are five sets of Galileo scales for the infants and toddlers, and eleven for preschool children. These Galileo scales create a continuum for monitoring the progress of children from birth through five years.
Infants & Toddlers:
- G3 Language & literacy-listening & understanding, communicating & speaking, early reading and print awareness, and early writing.
- G3 Cognition & general knowledge-exploration & discovery, concept development & memory, and problem-solving & creative expression.
- G3 Approaches to learning-eagerness & curiosity, persistence, and creativity & inventiveness.
- G3 Physical development & health-gross & fine motor, self-care, and self-help.
- G3 Social & emotional-trust and emotional security, self-regulation, and self-concept.
Preschoolers:
- G3 Approaches to learning-Initiative & curiosity, persistence & attentiveness, goal setting & planning, and cooperation.
- G3 Creative arts & expression-music, creative movement & dance, art, and drama.
- G3 Language-listening & understanding (receptive and expressive), communicating & speaking, book appreciation.
- G3 Literacy- phonological awareness, book knowledge and appreciation, alphabet knowledge, print concepts & conventions, and early writing.
- G3 logic and reasoning-reasoning & problem solving and symbolic representation.
- G3 Early Math-number concepts & quantities, number relationships & operations, geometry & spatial sense, patterns, and measurement & comparison.
- G3 Physical development & health-gross & fine motor, self-care, and self-help.
- G3 Nature & Science-scientific skills & method, conceptual knowledge of the natural & physical world.
- G3 Social studies-family & community, history & events, and people & the environment.
- G3 Social & emotional-social relationships, emotional & behavioral health, self-regulation, and self-concept.
- G3 English Language Acquisition-progress towards English acquisition (comprehending and speaking, if English is not the child's first language.
Second Language Learners
The grantee understands that it is essential that staff understand that development is influenced by children's culture and linguistic backgrounds and temperaments, among other factors; therefore, planning of learning activities, daily schedules, and the teaching practices must be premeditated by this-If not, appropriate training or coaching must be offered to staff. It is important to state that Infant and toddler classrooms will use the child's home language to enhance or promote development. However, English can be introduced at minimal levels. In preschool, English will be increased to promote higher levels of proficiency and developmental progress measured by the Galileo G3 English Acquisition Scale. Ninety-one percent of the children in 2019 list Spanish as the primarily language.
Education Services for Children with Disabilities
MSHS enroll children with disabilities no matter the severity. The screenings such as; health, developmental, hearing and vision are completed within the 45 days of the child's first day of attendance. These screenings will address the status of each child's developmental, general health, hearing, vision, speech and language, fine and gross motor skills, and/or behavior. If they are found to need further screenings or a referral the teacher will bring up the child's name at the bi-weekly meeting and the bi-weekly team will discuss the next step necessary to help the child. Bi-weekly staffing is a procedure that MSHS has in place to plan a course of action to meet the unique needs of any child, including those with a known or suspected disability. During the Bi-weekly meeting the team completes the Child Inclusion and Environmental Modification Plan which helps staff plan for specific needs and/or modifications needed in the classroom, playground or in the materials and/or equipment available. Any information given during this staffing follows the MSHS Confidentiality Policy. The disability worker makes a home visit to explain to the parents the screening results and obtain signed consent for further referrals as needed. MSHS helps the parents with translation and transportation, if needed, and are kept informed from the beginning and throughout the referral process. The service worker will contact the appropriate agency, Part C, a family support specialist (in Illinois it is Children and Family Connection) or Part B, a district special education person (Local Education Agency LEA) to start the process of the referral.
For children that are enrolled and already have an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) or an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), the disability worker will contact the family to obtain consent to contact the appropriate agencies and start scheduling therapy sessions, that are needed, at the center. The worker reviews the service plans to see what therapy are needed and when does the plan need an annual review. If the annual review falls in the time frame in which the child is attending MSHS, the disability service worker will take the lead and contact the agency to schedule a date and time for the annual review-all with the involvement of the parent.
Between July and November of 2019, we have served twenty-nine children with disabilities (.0805% of funded enrollment); twelve children with IEP's and 17 with IFSP's. An additional nineteen children are suspected of having a disability and follow up will immediately commence upon their re-enrollment. All children but one has speech and language or developmental delays or Impairments, one child has autism. Staff helped this parent make a routine book for her son and she recently inform them that with the Stay-at-Home Order, it has become indispensable now.
Special considerations are made when assessing children with disabilities
Within one week of a child with disabilities attending or the IEP/IFSP meeting, the Disabilities Coordinator (DSC) schedules a meeting with the education staff and parents to discuss and plan for the individualization of the child's instruction and assessment. The proficiency development and estimated growth is determined by the children's individual developmental stage and the children's IEP or IFSP's plans. The scales are selected based on the diagnostic developmental report of each child. For example: the diagnostic report states that a 4-year-old child's development is typical of a child his age in all areas, except for language-in this area his development is within that of a 2-year-old; the teacher might use all the assessment scales typically used for a child that is 4 years old, except for language where she would substitute it with one that is intended for a 2-year-old, as diagnosed. In addition, Staff will modify scales, as necessary, to align with the child's IEP or IFSP. For example: all milestones that relate to gross motor will be removed from the scale for a child that has no mobility on his legs-walking, running, climbing stairs, etc.; for a child that has severe speech impediments or is deaf, sign-language milestones (both receptive and expressive) would replace those of verbal speech. Also, teaching staff must consider during their planning that children with disabilities, depending on their disability, may need extra support in one or more developmental areas.
It is possible, even for children whose development is typical to that of his peers, to have a higher proficiency in some areas of development than those typical for a child's age, or in some cases lower. In these instances, the staff will use the age-range that best fits the child's development level for that area only. It is not necessary for the child to use the same age range for all the developmental areas, nor is it necessary for him to complete all the scales in his age range before he is moved to the next age range for any developmental area.
2019-2020 School Readiness Data
The IMSHS selected a broad-range School Readiness 5-year Goal to allow for the yearly objectives to address the domains of Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Literacy, Cognition, and Perceptual, Motor and Physical development. IMSHS goal and objectives are aligned with HSELOF, Illinois State Early Learning Standards and Illinois Birth-to-Three Early Learning Guidelines. The Planning Committee (grantee staff, parents, delegate staff and board members) review children's outcomes data and decide on goals for the following grant year.
Overall, 74% of the children were able to meet their developmental achievement level in 2019-20. Infants and toddlers had and overall progress gain of 17% and had a 7% progress gain in capabilities that have been mapped to school readiness. Preschoolers had a 9% overall progress gain and a 12% gain on SR capabilities.
Migrant children typically start with the least knowledge in the areas of Math and Nature and Science and often literacy. Typically, most 3-year-olds should be at the beginning developmental level with some children at the second developmental level; four-year-olds should be in the intermediate, between levels 2 and 3; and, 5-year-olds should be in the advance developmental levels of 3 and 4. Sixty-seven percent of the children transferring to Kindergarten were at the basic knowledge level of early math development; 50% at the basic knowledge level of nature and science; and, 42% in the basic knowledge level of social studies.
Public School Title 1 Migrant Education program has similar findings.
Delegates will continue to promote training and coaching around STEM, social studies and Literacy Development. Delegates will coordinate their academic strategies with Illinois Migrant Education Title 1 program to provide early literacy and math development opportunities for migratory children ages 3-5 who have not yet entered kindergarten. Model early reading/literacy/math teaching and learning strategies for parents.
Quality Interactions and Curriculum Fidelity
Education Coordinators quantify the interaction between teachers and children by using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, an observation tool that measures the quality of teacher-child interactions. Data from the classrooms are analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program. In the three domains measured, program scores exceeded the Head Start thresholds. Delegate Education Coordinators observe classrooms monthly to evaluate curriculum fidelity. They provide on-going coaching for teachers to help them to improve their performance.
Transitions
Delegates have inter-agency agreements between the Migrant Head Start agency and local public schools, Head Start, Child Care Centers. Education Coordinators initiate transition plans by meeting with public school staff in June-July to coordinate activities that support continuity of services, for children and families as they leave IMSHS. IMSHS staff invites school district personnel to Parent Fair, and/or schedule meetings, to introduce parents and to explain transition requirements, parent's roles and responsibilities in public schools, and to provide an opportunity for parents to ask questions. Coordinators also help parents to enroll children in public schools, child care, Region V Head Start or Early Head Start and, if necessary, fill out enrollment paperwork and apply for state day care voucher.
Of the 74 children transitioned in 2019, 38 were transitioned to Kindergarten and 20 into a PK3 or PK4 preschool program, 4 into childcare, and 11 into a Head Start. None were transitioned to Early Head Start.
Once again this season, Principals visited three of our Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Delegates and the classrooms this past season. Principals continue to be surprised by the array and the quality of services that the programs provide in such a short time.
Subjects discussed:
- Preparedness for School Readiness
- Plan transition meetings in July Administrators and kindergarten teachers and the Administration and teachers from Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Delegates.
- The administrative team, teachers, and classroom aids from the Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Programs were formally invited to visit Public Schools to observe the kindergarten classes.
- School Districts would like for their teachers and aids to visit Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Delegates to share instructional and social-emotional strategies, interventions, and best practices.
