The Arkansas Guide for Promoting Family Engagement was developed by the Arkansas State Parent Advisory
Council and funded by the Arkansas Head Start State Collaboration Office though a grant from the W. K. Kellogg
Foundation. The guide, modeled after the Head Start Parent, Family and Community Engagement Framework,
offers a statewide system for promoting family engagement to meet the needs of young children and families in
Arkansas. The Arkansas State Parent Advisory Council acknowledges Sherry S. Guarisco, SSG Consulting Services
LLC, for her services in facilitating the work of the Council to develop this guide. (2015)
Click on the image below for a copy of the guide. (Click here for the Spanish Version)
The Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards: Birth through 60 Months was developed through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. It is important to recognize Joelle-Jude Fontaine, the state’s Program Officer at the Foundation, who has been a supportive and encouraging partner throughout the development of not only these standards, but also the state’s family engagement and kindergarten entry screening initiatives. The standards were created through the hard work of a number of passionate and dedicated early childhood professionals. Jackie Govan, the Arkansas Head Start State Collaboration Director, led the development effort, ensuring that the project stayed on track, that the input of the Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards Committee was appropriately incorporated into the document, and that the opinions and perspectives of the broader early childhood stakeholder community in Arkansas were well represented. Tonya Williams, Director of the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE), and her staff provided valuable input from the state agency perspective throughout the process. Click on the image for the English Version. (Click here for the Spanish Version)
Head Start agencies that provide services to children and families must meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards and the requirements set forth in the Head Start Act of 2007. The Office of Head Start (OHS) also offers direction through Program Instructions (PIs) and Information Memorandums (IMs). More guidance is available to grantees through their federal program specialist. Click on the image for a copy of the standards.
On December 12, 2007, former President Bush signed Public Law 110-134 "Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007"reauthorizing the Head Start program. This law contains significant revisions to the previous Head Start Act and authorizes Head Start through September 30, 2012.
The following is a copy of the amended Head Start Act. Click on the image for a copy of the act.