Leadership in family support and services

Southwest Human Development Head Start has earned a national reputation for comprehensive twogeneration support with well-documented success in breaking the poverty cycle. Taking evidence-based practices to scale, our high-quality programs deliver life-changing support, resources, and opportunities to those struggling with poverty.

Transforming lives and moving families forward

BEYOND ADDRESSING CRITICAL NEEDS with counseling, mental health services, and crisis intervention, we provide parents with individualized support in furthering their education and finding jobs. Southwest Human Development is a key partner in supporting state and national priorities from workforce development for the under/ unemployed to extended-hour quality child care. The entire community thrives economically when parents are free to navigate work and class schedules knowing their children are safe and experiencing quality care.

Whether families enroll their children in centerbased classrooms or the home base program, parents are engaged as equal partners in their child’s education and actively participate in program planning. They learn positive parenting skills and receive support for creating healthy, nurturing, stable home environments. Our programs also encourage personal growth and confidence through leadership opportunities including positions on the Policy Council and the Board of Directors.

Effective, Comprehensive Family Services

• 1,146 Head Start/Early Head Start families served

• 924 families with at least one parent employed/in training or school

• 1,080 employed/in training or school by end of enrollment

• 100% of 191 volunteers were current/ former Head Start parents

What do parents say?

“Early Head Start has helped me to be a more effective parent and teacher for my child, to set and work toward my financial goals, and provides important resources in times of crisis. My home visitor follows a routine that Natalia loves. She has helped me learn about child development and the importance of education.”

“Whether I am coaching my team, data intake assistants, or Family Support Specialists, the imperative is to approach support for unhoused children and families with the utmost discretion, sensitivity, cultural humility, and respect for confidentiality.”

Julio Chavez Reyes Community Development Manager

Improving connections to foster children and unhoused families

HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START SERVICES can make a crucial difference in the lives of foster children and those in families experiencing homelessness. At the same time, lack of contact information and issues of shame and stigma can make it difficult to identify and connect to these populations. We took steps in 2022-23 to close those gaps with stronger ties to area community partners and organizations that provide shelter and transitional housing. These intentional relationships create a two-way information exchange about Head Start’s life-changing services and the family’s specific needs. For those who decide to enroll, this deeper understanding gives Family Support Specialists an immediate advantage in building trust and family stability. To facilitate the enrollment of unhoused families in Head Start, our intake form now includes a simple bullet-point section for “living arrangements.” Those taking applications receive coaching on the extreme sensitivity of traumatic events and the importance of avoiding further questions.

Pandemic disruptions in economic stability and the dramatic increase in rent that followed have caused a crisis of family displacement. To provide Family Support Specialists with trusted, timely information on available rentals in our area, our comprehensive database of community resources now includes detailed information for every option. Research teams are also developing navigators for families who qualify for the Housing Choice Voucher Program Section 8, a federal program that allows families to choose any housing that meets program requirements.

Efforts to reach foster children are grounded in the registry provided by the Arizona State Head Start Association that connects foster children and families under the state Department of Child Safety with Head Start programs in each area. To reach children who have yet to be placed with a foster family, we began discussions with Child Crisis Arizona on the viability of a partnership for full-day child care. Community outreach included our presence at the 2023 Annual Foster Festival in Encanto Park, a large-scale event that provided opportunities to meet and network with thousands of foster children, parents, and families.

• 31 foster children served

• 85 unhoused children served

• 51 unhoused families served

• 17 families found housing

Revised structure for Family Information Form