04.02.10 - IMSHS Transition Procedure

IMSHS Transition Procedure Policy Number and Last Update
(04.02.10/01-2011)

Policy:

Illinois Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (IMSHS) staff coordinates activities that support continuity of services and successful transitions for children and families as they leave IMSHS.

Procedure:

Intrastate

  1. Conduct outreach to schools which children will enroll following the program to create support and organize the resources of the local community for improving school readiness.
  2. Collaborate and coordinate activities with the local education agencies or other programs operating pre-kindergarten programs (with the permission of the parents) to regularly communicate with the school in which the children will enroll following the program to:
    1. Share information about children eligible for their programs;
    2. Collaborate with the teachers in such schools, regarding professional development and instructional strategies, as appropriate; and
    3. Ensure a smooth transition to school for such children.
  3. Coordinate activities and collaborate with programs under the Child Care Block Grant, Migrant Even Start programs, Migrant Education, programs providing services for children with disabilities, and any other agencies serving IMSHS children and families by:
    1. Collaborating on the shared use of transportation and facilities in appropriate cases;
    2. Collaborating to reduce the duplication of and enhance the efficiency of services; and
    3. Exchanging information on the provision of non-educational services to IMSHS children.
  4. Establish memorandums of understanding with local education agencies to facilitate the transition of children into public schools, which may include:
    1. Educational activities;
    2. Selection priorities for eligible children to be transitioned;
    3. Services areas;
    4. Provision of additional services to meet the needs of working parents, as applicable;
    5. Facilitating communication and parent outreach for smooth transitions to kindergarten;
    6. Establishing ongoing communication between the programs for developing continuity of developmentally appropriate curricular objectives and for sharing expectations for children's learning and development as the children transition to school; and
    7. Facilitating meetings between parents and kindergarten school teachers to discuss the educational, developmental, and other needs of individual children.
  5. Delegates will send a copy of such memorandum to the IMSHS grantee office. If the local education agency or program funded to run a preschool program is unable or unwilling to enter into such memorandum, the delegate center shall document efforts and send copies of such documentation to the IMSHS grantee.
  6. Refer and follow the intrastate transition guidelines in the Education Services Plan, Goal II objectives and action steps:
    1. When a child has a disability, follow the Transition of Children with Disabilities guidance;
    2. Develop a transition plan to Kindergarten, including budget and specific activities that include: consultation with parents, a field trip to the school, and translation services (if needed);
    3. Transfer children's relevant records to public schools, after parents have signed the permission to release information;
    4. Invite school district personnel to Parent Fair and any other center even to familiarize them with the Head Start program;
    5. Develop parent training sessions in collaboration with school personnel when possible to explain: transition requirements, parents' roles and responsibilities in public schools, and to answer parents' questions;
    6. Assist families who stay in the area to enroll children in child care, preschool, or Region V Head Start programs, if they wish;
    7. Document the transition program's name and address in the Education Services Track Sheet and enter into the Galileo Online System; and
    8. Assist families to apply for a state day care voucher (if applicable).

Interstate

  1. IMSHS develops a collaborative agreement with Texas Migrant Council's (TMC) grantee office to collaborate in the transition of families to and from Texas.
  2. Delegate agencies obtain parent's consent to transfer relevant records between local TMC and IMSHS programs.
  3. IMSHS delegate agencies collaborate with local Migrant Even Start Programs to facilitate the smoothtransition between programs for winter services in Illinois or Texas.
  4. IMSHS delegate agencies contact and establish similar collaborative agreements with agencies in other states where families migrate to and from (if applicable).
  5. Refer and follow the Interstate transition guidelines in the Education Services Plan, Goal II objectives and action steps.
    1. When a child has a disability, follow the Transition of Children with Disabilities Guidance.
    2. Families transitioning to the McAllen, Texas area:
      1. Ensure that all children with follow-up needs have a file with complete transition form, signed parent consent form, and copies of all applicable records, and that files are sent to the Health Services Manager;
      2. Transition Coordinator in Texas assists families in placing children in local education programs;
      3. Transition Coordinator submits program information of where the children are placed, to the grantee education manager to be entered into the Galileo Online system; and
      4. Either grantee or delegate staff contacts such programs in the spring to start the transition process for those families returning to Illinois.
    3. Children leaving Illinois for places other than McAllen, Texas area, develop and implement a plan with budget, parental input, and specific activities such as:
      1. Procedure to transition children that includes the transfer of records, following strict confidentiality procedures;
      2. Communication, at least, with the counterparts in areas where the majority of the families move to;
      3. Explanation to parents (through workshops, newsletters, etc.) the importance of a smooth transition;
      4. The development and follow-up of individual written transition plan for every child that needs it; and
      5. Transition information is entered into the Galileo Online system.