Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office

Background

Texas was one of the first states to receive a grant back in 1990. The work of this office is accomplished though the participation of many task force members, that represent parents, Ha/EHS staff, child care and public school teachers and administrators, practitioners, advocacy organizations, lawmakers, public and private agencies, associations, businesses, and higher education.

The purpose of the Texas Head Start Collaboration Office (THSSCO) is to create partnerships that supports the development of multi-agency and public/private collaborative action to:

1. Assist in building early childhood systems and access to comprehensive services and support for all low-income children.
2. Encourage widespread collaboration between Head Start and other programs and services, including health care, education, family literacy, community services, services to children with disabilities and homeless children.
3. Facilitate the involvement of Head Start in State policies, plans, processes and initiatives affecting the Head Start target population and other low-income families.

We prompt system and policy changes that benefit low income families and children by:

1. Assisting in developing collaborative initiatives, structures, and mechanisms.
2. Creating linkages between Head Start and other state initiatives, service systems and our 8 priority - family literacy, community services, welfare-safety, economic security, homeless services, health care, child care, out-of-school programs, services for disabled children education, k-12 and higher.

Our purpose, goals, and leadership role depend on our individual and collective ability to influence a complex system of factors that creates child and family well-being.

Texas Early Care and Education Career Development System (TECECDS)

The Texas Early Care and Education Career Development System (TECECDS) provides an avenue for early childhood practioners and administrators to pursue their professional development along a continuum of increasingly complex education and skill levels. Training provides instruction in the Core Knowledge and Skills for center-based practitioners, home based care practitioners, and center-based administrators.

• Learn more about TECECDS
• Trainer Login

Texas Head Start/Early Head Start Needs Assessment 2008-2009 Survey
Results, presents findings from a survey of staff and directors representing 34 of the86 grantees in Texas for the school year 2008-2009. The purpose of the survey was to gather information for site-based assessment of Head Start/Early Head Start programs with specific focus on cooperation, coordination, and collaboration within ten key activity areas:

1. Health Care
2. Children Experiencing Homelessness
3. Family/Child Assistance
4. Child Care
5. Family Literacy Services
6. Children with Disabilities and Their Families
7. Community Services
8. Publicly Funded Pre-K Partnership Development (Education)
9. Head Start Transition and Alignment with K-12 (Education)
10. Professional Development
    

To find out more about the national initiative in Head Start, visit the web sites of the National Head Start Association, the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, the US Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Internet Resources

• Healing Thresholds - Connecting Community and Science to Heal Autism   
• List of distant learning ECE programs
• Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center
• 211texas.org
• Directory of Community Resources in Texas
• Texas School Ready!™
• Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center
• Finding Help In Texas
• Commissioner's Rules Concerning Head Start Educational Component Grant Program
• FirstGov en Español
• Office of the Governor of Texas
• The National Registry Alliance