The HSSCO will engage, support, coordinate, and build positive earlychildhood Systems to align with early care and education services, allowing access to quality comprehensive services to support foster care, homeless children and families, EHS/Head Start, and childcare partners.
The HSSCO will work collaboratively with state and local agencies to coordinate and align school readiness, data systems, and transition services, and family engagement services to EHS, HS, and MSHS programs in order to prepare children for public school and for life.
The HSSCO will work collaboratively to support the expansion of the Arkansas Better Beginnings/QRIS and ensure that EHS, HS, MSHS, and EHS/CC programs’ have access to quality professional development and career development opportunities to maintain skilled and competent staff.
The HSSCO will support all Head Start, Childcare, and EHS-CCP programs by providing technical assistance, resource materials, state updates, and networking opportunities to maintain connectivity among programs.
The HSSCO will work collaboratively with state school systems, colleges &universities, and other educational agencies to ensure continuity of care between EHS/Head Start, AR Better Chance (ABC), Childcare, the public schools, and other early childhood agencies.
In working with different agencies and organizations, the HSSCO will design a process to ensure that program integration and coordination is in place to improve working relationships and educational programming in the areas of Education, Homelessness, Family Literacy, and Disability Services.
The HSSCO will identify appropriate state partners to discuss, create, and provide quality information and resources in Health Education, Mental Health, CommunityServices, and Child Welfare for families enrolled in EHS/Head Start and MSHS programs.
As a member of the Equity Leaders Action Network (ELAN) team with the 2015 -2018 National BUILD Initiative, the HSSCO will create opportunities for EHS/Head Start programs to enhance their skills in recognizing and eliminating racial educational disparities in the early childhood education system.
The HSSCO will work closely with the Office of Head Start (OHS) and theDallas Regional Office (DRO) in coordinating activities, initiatives, and other priorities to support EHS, Head Start, and Migrant-Seasonal programs in AR.
The HSSCO will create new initiatives along with the new priorities from the OHS in the areas of background checks, quality improvements for programs, and providing ongoing services to families who are incarcerated and military families.