Early Head Start (EHS) is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with infants and toddlers and pregnant women. Its mission is simple: to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, enhance the development of very young children, and promote healthy family functioning.

Congress established the Early Head Start program as part of the reauthorization of the Head Start program in 1994. In creating this program, the Congress acted upon evidence from research and practice which illustrates that early intervention through high quality programs enhances children's physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development; enables parents to be better caregivers and teachers to their children; and helps parents meet their own goals, including economic independence. Such programs answer an undeniable need.

The Kids Incorporated Early Head Start program serves eligible families in Jefferson, Leon, and Madison (Florida) counties:

• Ensure quality by meeting the requirements in the Head Start Program Performance Standards and other applicable regulations;
• Provide early, individualized child development and parent education services to low-income infants and toddlers and their families according to a plan developed jointly by the parents and staff;
• Provide these services through an appropriate mix of home visits, experiences at the Early Head Start center, and experiences in other settings such as family or center-based child care;
• Provide early opportunities for infants and toddlers with and without disabilities to grow and develop together in nurturing and inclusive settings;
• Ensure that the Early Head Start program is supportive and nurturing of families;
• Respond to the needs of families, including, where appropriate, the need for full-time child care for working families
• Connect with other service providers at the local level to ensure that a comprehensive array of health, nutrition, and other services are provided to the program's pregnant women, very young children, and their families;
• Recruit, train, and supervise high quality staff to ensure the kind of warm and continuous relationships between caregivers and children that are crucial to learning and development for infants and toddlers;
• Ensure parent involvement in policy and decision making; and
• Coordinate with local Head Start and other child development programs in order to ensure continuity of services for these children and families.

Who We Serve:

Kids Incorporated's Early Head Start program provides comprehensive social services to low-income pregnant women and children, birth through three years of age and their families. Participants must meet income eligibility requirements and a minimum of 10% of the children served have special needs. Prenatal women must be in their first five months of pregnancy to be accepted into the program. Service is limited to qualified families in Jefferson, Leon and Madison counties.

Program Governance:

The Kids Incorporated Early Head Start program is government by a system of shared governance that includes the Board of Directors, Early Head Start Policy Council, Parent Committees and Kids Incorporated Management Team. Effective communication among these groups ensures the EHS program meets families' needs through quality services. The shared governance structure supports the role of parents in the program's success, providing ample opportunities to get involved and offer critical input into the program management.

Child development services are offered at 5 early learning programs in a classroom setting. Full day, full year services are offered to families who are working full-time or enrolled in education/training programs full-time. The philosophy of the center based classrooms is founded on play-based child-centered curriculum, primary care giving and multi-age programming with a strong parent component.

The Kids Incorporated EHS program utilizes the Creative Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers. The child development staff ensures children are provided with opportunities to optimally develop. Recognizing parents/guardians are the child’s primary educators, our staff works in a collaborative relationship with parents or guardians. A variety of materials, activities, and opportunities for exploration are made available, which support all ages and developmental levels, styles of learning, cultural preferences, and interests in order to help children gain the social competence, skills, and confidence necessary to be prepared to succeed in school and life.

Activities are planned at the early learning facilities to encourage individual and group play that give children the opportunity to experience success. Through close observation child development staff facilitates active learning which allows children to explore and develop at their own pace.

Early Head Start actively recruits children with disabilities through collaboration with the State Part C Provider (Early Steps). The classrooms are arranged and equipped to ensure the ease of mobility for all children and child development staff. Daily routines, activities, and experiences will be arranged to achieve the goals of the child’s Individual Family Service Plan.

A variety of books, pictures and music are used in the classroom. Child development staff encourages and invites the families to bring in items appropriate for infants and toddlers that they would like to share which represent their culture. Child development staff avoids activities and materials that stereotype or limit children according to their gender, age, disability, race, ethnicity, or family composition.

All centers have a ratio of 1 adult to 4 children, with no more than 8 children in each classroom, along with 2 teachers. Foster Grandparents, provided by Elder Care Services, provide an extra set of hands in the classroom. They rock and feed babies, wipe noses, read to children, help with activities and assist in a variety of other ways.

Brandon’s Place at Lincoln is located in the City of Tallahassee’s Lincoln Neighborhood Center (former Lincoln High School) in the Frenchtown community of Tallahassee. The center, formerly named Lincoln Children’s Center, was renamed in 2002 for the late Brandon Moeller, a six year old Tallahassee boy who was killed in an accident. Brandon’s family, Richard & Cheryl Moeller, established the Brandon Moeller Memorial Fund and adopted the then-preschool center as one way to help other children – something Brandon enjoyed doing in his short life. The center was converted to serve infants and toddlers in 2004 when Kids Incorporated expanded the EHS program to Leon County. The playground was totally torn down and rebuilt by volunteers with Women in Construction to accommodate the change from 4 and 5 year olds to infants and toddlers.

The center serves 32 children from ages 6 weeks to 3 years old. The center is nationally accredited by NAEYC.

Bright Days is named for Lucile Day, Kids Incorporated Board Member and retired Early Education Coordinator for the Madison County School Board. The center is located in a wing of the former Madison Primary School in a building currently owned by North Florida Community College and was dedicated by Congressman Alan Boyd in February, 2004. The center serves 48 children in the Madison area.

Co-located with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend at their Greg McCray Center, this center serves 40 children, primarily from the SouthCity area of Tallahassee. The center is named for Kids Incorporated’s founder, Budd Bell, and was dedicated May 25, 2004 by Florida First Lady Columba Bush, Congressman Alan Boyd and Mayor John Marks.

Bright Beginnings was Kids Incorporated’s first EHS center. Named for the late Clifford Brown, a Greenville educator who had advocated for a quality early learning center for infants and toddlers, the center opened in June, 1998 and was dedicated by Congressman Alan Boyd. It serves 28 children and their families and is accredited by NAEYC.

Kids Incorporated took over the Dick Howser Center in Monticello in September, 2003 when the organization chose to close its doors. Kids Incorporated had previously contracted with the Dick Howser Center to serve Jefferson County EHS children. Today, the Center has undergone extensive interior and playground renovations and serves 32 children. It is nationally accredited by NAEYC.

Holiday Schedule

Kids Incorporated centers and offices are closed according to the following holiday schedule for the 2006-2007 program year:

Prenatal Services:

Goals of the prenatal program are to:

• Empower pregnant women to reach their full potential
• Support pregnant women in preparing for the birth of their child and becoming a parent
• Support healthy pregnancies and deliveries for at-risk pregnant women
• Support new mothers and their families as they transition to child development programs

These services include access to comprehensive prenatal and postpartum health care, prenatal education, and breastfeeding education. Each pregnant woman (family) is assigned a Prenatal Home Visitor to help ensure a healthy pregnancy and delivery. The Partners for Healthy Baby Curriculum is used. In addition, the prenatal program offers parenting education and family support. Monthly socializations provide opportunities for prenatal women and families to meet and talk with others in the program. Topics have included: infant massage, breastfeeding, nutrition, budgeting and home buying, and new car seat safety. Within two weeks of a birth, the family and newborn are visited by the Prenatal Home Visitor and the Health & Disabilities Coordinator. A Mental Wellness Consultant is available to work with post-natal mothers to counsel those suffering from post-partum depression. During this visit health education materials are provided and to ensure that the health needs of the infant and family are being met.

Prenatal Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible for the prenatal program, women should be less than four (4) months pregnant and must meet Early Head Start eligibility requirements.

In addition to completing the EHS participant application, applicants must provide:

• Six (6) weeks of current pay or an employer verification form
• Copies of social security cards for all household members
• Proof of pregnancy statement
• Picture identification
• WIC card
• Insurance

Upon completion of the eligibility requirements, applicants will be notified by letter if they are eligible for participation in the program (based on availability) or if they are over-income. If selected to participate in the program, you will receive a phone call to come in and complete the en-rollment paperwork and begin the program.

The prenatal program is a serious commitment of 8 to 10 months (or until your child transitions to the early education and care program of EHS). Those not wanting to participate in home visits and monthly socializations need not apply.

Family & Community Partnership Services:

This is a critical component of the Early Head Start program which provides a variety of services supporting the development of each child and family enrolled in the program. The overall goal is to empower families in becoming self-sufficient.

This program works to provide families with a system of support to help them reach their individual goals and objectives. Family Service Coordinators work collaboratively with community partners and parents to build strong, trusting relationships and partnerships to support growth and development. Parents play a key role in developing and setting programmatic goals for their family. Opportunities for parent involvement include parent meetings, male involvement meetings, policy council, home visits, volunteering and early education & care team staffing’s.

Parent training is provided to enhance skills and knowledge. Monthly parent meetings run by parents for parents provide an opportunity for an exchange of information. Parent interest surveys are provided at the time of enrollment in order for parents to offer feedback on training topics they would like the program to offer.

Transition our Early Head Start children is an on-going process. Family Service Coordina-tors work with the families six months prior to the child’s birthday to determine where the child will transition once they leave the EHS program. Information about various options is provided families in order to facilitate a smooth transition process.

Community partnerships are one of the key roles of the Early Head Start program. They serve as the link between families and available community services. It is Kids Incorporated’s practice not to “re-invent the wheel”. Instead of developing new programs and offering them ourselves, we partner with organizations that provide other necessary services our families may need. This way we don’t duplicate services and our families are able to access valuable services. Some of our community partners include: Workforce Plus, Children’s Home Society, the county Health Departments of Jefferson, Leon and Madison counties, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend, Capital Area Community Action Agency, Inc., Children’s Medical Services, Refuge House, ECHO, Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Charities, WFSU Ready-to-Learn, Early Steps, the Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend, Pregnancy Help and Information Center, and Whole Child Leon Project.

Health & Disability Services:

Kids Incorporated provides comprehensive health services to EHS prenatal clients and children birth to three years of age. The goal of our program is to support healthy physical development by encouraging practices that prevent illness or injury and by promoting positive, culturally relevant health behaviors that enhance life long well being. The comprehensive health services include medical, dental, nutritional and mental health. Disability services are also provided to assist and support children with diagnosed disabilities and their families. The services are individualized to meet the needs of each child and family. The prenatal clients and parents are encouraged to be involved in all aspects of their child’s health care, helping them to learn about the importance of prevention, early detection and treatment. Monthly Health Services newsletters are distributed to EHS families.

Kids Incorporated has outside consultants available to serve families. A family therapist schedules monthly appointments to visit each center, meeting with parents and conducting classroom observations. The therapist is also available to assist a family through a crisis period. A Registered Nurse Practitioner assists with training staff on health issues and a Nutritionist helps staff develop menus and ensure nutritional health needs of children and families are being met.

Upon entering the program, all EHS children receive sensory, developmental and behavioral screens to determine health and/or developmental concerns. Two screens (ASQ – measuring development) and two assessments (E-LAP & LAP-R - ongoing tool to monitor a child’s development) are conducted each program year. If concerns are found, a meeting with staff and parents is held and a plan of action developed that may include further evaluation or referral(s) to a community partner. Follow-up meetings are held to ensure concerns are adequately addressed. Health, nutrition and mental health consultants are available to join in these meetings and evaluations.

Dental Days & Health Screenings:

Within 90 days of entry into the program, a free professional oral exam is provided by the staff at the health department in each of the three counties served, following by annual exams thereafter. Parents are encouraged to participate with dental days. Twice a year, in collaboration with the FSU School of Nursing, children have the opportunity to receive a free health screen.

Community partners assist in the wellness of our children and families. Among these partners, Early Steps and Children’s Medical Services collaborate to provide therapy and support services to children with diagnosed disabilities.

A Kids Incorporated Early Head Start Health Services Advisory Committee is composed of parents, program staff, and representatives of the local health community in the three counties served by this program. The committee meets quarterly, rotating the meeting sites among the three counties and serves as a networking tool between the EHS program and the local health community. The committee also serves as a way our program can build strong partnerships that help us determine when, where and how our children and families receive their health services. This Committee is an important component of our program, particularly as it relates to providing advice and resources to help ensure we offer quality comprehensive health services to the children and families we serve.

Health Service Advisory Committee members include:

Nutrition Services:

Staff members work with parents to identify the children’s nutritional needs. The staff takes into account the child’s height and weight, health history, current eating patterns, including cultural preferences, and special dietary requirements.

As a program whose meals are funded by the Child Care Food Program, we implement a nutrition program that meets the nutritional needs and feeding requirements of each of the infants and toddlers. The EHS program uses the meal pattern requirements designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (consisting of milk, fruits, vegetables, meat or meat alternate, and grains or breads). Based on these guidelines, our nutritionist prepares the menus (one for toddlers and another for 8-12 month olds). Children are served family-style meals.

A nutritional referral is made to address issues relating to dietary concerns.

Male Involvement Program:

The Male Involvement Program was established by Kids Incorporated to promote, train, and recruit male family members to participate more in the lives of young children served in our Early Head Start centers. The program links positive male role models with young children in efforts to reduce the increase in absentee fathers. The Male Involvement Program incorporates the idea that parenting is a partnership and not a sole proprietorship and expresses a father’s unique way of parenting.

Some of the services that the program provides for participating males are:

• Training opportunities at monthly meetings,
• regional fatherhood conferences,
• social service resource and referrals,
• employment assistance,
• group socials and relationship counseling.

Through the program, males interact with kids by participating in various events and activities within the early learning centers. The goal of this particular program goal is to provide every child with the experience of a positive male figure.

Eligible participants are required to:

• Reside in Jefferson, Leon or Madison (FL) counties
• Have a child no older than 3 years of age or be in first 4 months of pregnancy
• Meet the income eligibility requirements

Federal regulations require that EHS programs verify the child’s age, family income, and, where applicable, special needs (Part C verification). Income eligibility is based on the federal poverty guidelines.

Age Verification:  If applying for the child care program option, you must provide proof of your child’s date of birth with one of the following documents: birth certificate, medical card, or hospital documentation.

Disability Verification:  If the applicant’s child is receiving Early Childhood Special Education services for a diagnosed disability, please provide a copy of the child’s Eligibility Determination letter.

Income Verification:  If your family is currently receiving TANF (CASH) benefits, Sup-plemental Security Income (SSI) or you are a foster parent of the applicant child, you must attach documentation. All other income must be documented. Income is the total gross income of all family members, NOT HOUSEHOLD, for either the past twelve months or for the previous calendar year, whichever more accurately reflects your family’s current situation.

Income Counted

Income counted includes:

• Wages and salaries before deductions (gross income)
• Income from self-employment (after expenses)
• Social security
• Unemployment compensation/workers compensation
• TANF or SSI money payments
• Alimony and child support payments
• Regular support form someone not living in the home
• Pensions
• Scholarships and grants
• Regular insurance or annuity payments
• Interest and dividends
• Rental income
• Net gambling or lottery winnings

Income not counted includes:

• Capital gains
• Tax refunds, gifts or lump-sum inheritances
• one-time payments from insurance
• Non-cash benefits such as food stamps or housing assistance

Children from families receiving public assistance (TANF or SSI) are eligible for EHS services regardless of income. Children in Foster Care are eligible regardless of income. Ten percent of enrollments are offered to children with disabilities. Children who come from families with slightly higher income may be able to participate when space is available.

Income Limits:

Early Head Start is for low-income families who:

• are receiving TANF benefits
• are receiving SSI benefits, or
• whose income before taxes is not more than 100% of the federal poverty guidelines

The 2006-2007 school year income eligibility guidelines are:

2006 - 2007 Early Head Start Income Limits
100% of Federal Poverty Guidelines

Families of children not eligible for Early Head Start may seek other early learning pro-grams through the Child Care Resource & Referral Services (CCR&R) offered by the Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region. Arbor Education & Training (E&T) handles CCR&R Services and administers the subsidized child care program for the Big Bend region. They may be reached at their toll free number: 1-866-973-9030.

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Main Office - Kids Incorporated
1170 Capital Circle NE
Tallahassee, FL 32301-3519
(850) 414-9800

If you need to contact any of the centers directly, please see them in theCenters sections of this page.