The following story comes from a woman enrolled in the Family Star Home Based Head Start and Parents as Teachers (PAT) program.
“Although we are a family of three (myself, my three year old daughter and a newborn), we are fortunate enough to have a support network in our multigenerational home which consists of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and, cousins. We have been a part of Family Star’s home-based program for the past several months and we love everything that the program has to offer. The visits are always fun and supportive.
In our family, we don’t usually discuss challenges we are facing, but home visits provide an opportunity to talk about our problems, explore solutions, and to just have someone listen. Prior to starting with our parent educator, we did not interact or talk with our kids. Now, we have a better understanding of the importance of engaging with them, responding to their feelings and how we can help them learn. We have noticed a big difference, my daughter and her cousins are talking more and are learning colors, shapes and counting. Home visiting is also changing things with the older cousins in the home and has been instrumental in encouraging communication and building relationships with each other.
The program (Home Based Head Start with Parents as Teachers) has made a large impact on our family. Our parent educator has connected us to the mental health and disabilities coordinator who came on a home visit to conduct a speech observation, explain the evaluation and IEP process and answer any questions we had. We were also able to get recommendations from the health and nutrition coordinator when we needed to find a milk alternative for one of the children. She provided us with several options and the benefits and concerns for each.”The program (Head Start and PAT) has made a large impact on our family. Our parent educator has connected us to the mental health and disabilities coordinator who came on a home visit to conduct a speech observation, explain the evaluation and IEP process and answer any questions we had. We were also able to get recommendations from the health and nutrition coordinator when we needed to find a milk alternative for one of the children. She provided us with several options and the benefits and concerns for each.”