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, 2018 to June 30, 2019 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 and Olney (partnership with Little Learners Child Care Center, Lawrenceville)
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.
Total Budget
| Funding Source |
Amount |
Percent of Total Budget |
| HHS/ACF/OHS |
$3,135,609 |
91% |
| Illinois General Revenue |
$200,100 |
6% |
| USDA |
$98,639 |
3% |
Budget Information
Eighty-nine percent of the total budget is allocated to delegate program operations, under the line item 6.f. contractual. Non-federal share is raised through agency and private donations of goods, and services.
| Line Item |
Proposed Budget |
Expenditures |
Percentage Spent |
| Travel |
$16,320.00 |
$13,523.00 |
82.86% |
| Contractual Delegates |
$3,076,844.00 |
$2,801,744.00 |
91.06% |
| Other contractual |
$42,445.00 |
$44,619.00 |
105.12% |
| Total |
$3,135,609.00 |
$2,859,886.00 |
91.21% |
| Line Item |
Proposed Budget |
Expenditures |
Percentage Spent |
| Contractual Delegates |
$200,100.00 |
$191,979.62 |
95.94% |
| Total |
$200,100.00 |
$191,979.62 |
95.94% |
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 2019, the program served 410 children from 263 families. A total of 34 children with disabilities were served; 18 with IEP's and 16 with IFSP's. The average monthly enrollment was 58.96%.
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
379 of the children received physical examinations, and 201 of the 220 children aged 3 to 5 received dental examinations. Those who did not receive these services were enrolled for fewer than 30 days.
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.
Most delegates use the Be Strong Families (organization that developed from Strengthening Families Illinois) to provide Parent Cafés -parent curriculum based on six protective factors, using principles of adult learning and family support and are a gateway to providing parent leadership opportunities. Parent Cafés are intended to get parents dialogging in small groups; tables are arranged (table cloth and flower arrangement included) to have small groups of 4-6 parents max.; and, the topic of discussion is selected by consensus of the parents at the beginning each session. Two parents from our Migrant Education Delegate have been trained to facilitate the Parent Cafés. Eighty parents attended the regularly scheduled Parent Cafés sessions and reported enjoying them and had positive feedback. Sixteen parents attended "Abriendo Puertas" (Open Doors). Abriendo Puertas honors each participant with a certificate for their participation, recognizing their commitment to lead as an advocate on behalf of children.
Parents also participated in inter-generational reading activities, using books from MSHS lending libraries and visiting public libraries. In addition, each child received books to keep; most books are donated by Kohl's or Macy's department stores through the federal Reading Is Fundamental program, and by First Books.
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".
Preparing Children
Sixty-nine percent of the preschool teachers have an Early Childhood Advanced, Baccalaureate degree, or related degree, and 31% 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 masters, baccalaureate or associate degree. One-hundred percent of Education Coordinators have a baccalaureate degree or higher.
Delegates use the Creative Curriculum to prepare children for kindergarten. The Creative Curriculum contains resources guiding interest area and room preparation as well as instructional content reflecting the most current research. The program's child-guidance policy emphasizes teaching children how to solve disagreements reasonably while respecting the rights of other people. Mental-health professionals observe classrooms monthly, consulting with teachers to improve methods of developing the children's social abilities.
The Creative Curriculum, Galileo Assessments and program's School-Readiness goals are all aligned with the Illinois Early Learning Standards and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework.
Each child's development is assessed 2 or 3 times during the season, depending on the child's total enrollment days, using the Galileo G3 Assessments. The children's progress is measured in the five essential domains identified in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. Assessment results are used to individualize instruction by planning activities that support children's interests and acquisition of new skills.
2019 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.
In 2019, children turning 36 months had the lowest percentages of Head Start Indicators in the areas of Language & Literacy-65% and 69% in Cognitive development. For preschoolers turning 5 years the lowest percentages were in Literacy-57%, math-50%, and science with 51%. Comparing last year's statistics to this season's, revealed an increase of 11% overall in mathematics and science scores showed an increase of 13% from the previous year-girls had a 1.1% higher gain than boys; boys had a 1.2% higher gain than girls in science. However, these two areas typically have the lowest percentage of baselines. MSHS delegates will be intentionally more aggressive in promoting these two areas.
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 children transitioned in October 2018, 47% were transitioned to Kindergarten and 16% into a preschool program, and 16% into a Head Start/Early Head Start Child Care Partner.
We had Principals visit our Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Delegates and the classrooms this past season. Although the Principals knew our directors they had never visited our sites and therefore were quite surprised by the array and the quality of services that the programs provide in such a short time.
These Principals also met with the staff and discussed how they can improve their relationships.
These are some of the subjects discussed:
- Preparedness for School Readiness
- Begin to have 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.
