A Case Study: ECMHSP
East Coast Migrant Head Start Project (ECMHSP)
East Coast Migrant Head Start Project establishes, provides, and promotes continuity of Head Start services to migrant children and their families along the east coast of the United States. Through enabling children to develop their full potential, parents are challenged to become more self-actualized by being involved with their own child's development and in decision making structures throughout ECMHSP.
East Coast Migrant Head Start Project has been providing continuity of Head Start Services to children of migrant farm workers since 1974. Currently, ECMHSP serves approximately 8,000 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in 86 centers in 12 states: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.
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To put into perspective what ECMHSP provides, "Think of the hands that feed you.
As you circle the produce section at the grocery store, look at the plump tomatoes. It's likely a Hispanic man sending money to Central America picked them on the Eastern Shore. Or perhaps a 14-year-old girl from Texas gathered them." - excerpt from Forgotten in the Fields by Pamela Stallsmith, Staff Writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. As each growing season approaches
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ECMHSP prepares education and training resources for each of its 86 centers. The resources are developed and assembled by the home office staff in Arlington, Virginia using materials from the resource library. The library consists of videos, manuals, brochures, guides, and newsletters. The library is organized according to the thirteen functional areas of the Child Development Associate (CDA) Certificate Staff Training Program, plus four additional categories. The CDA Categories, with associated subcategories, are the first thirteen (13), followed by the four addition ones:
1. Cognitive
a) Development
b) Math
c) Problem Solving
d) Science
2. Communication
a) Language Development
b) Literacy
c) Skills
d) Whole Language
3. Creative
a) Art
b) Creativity
c) Music & Movement
4. Families
a) Parenting
b) Parent Involvement
c) Social Services
5. Guidance
a) Behavior
b) Discipline
6. Health
a) Abuse/Neglect
b) Dental
c) Health Care
d) Illness Prevention
e) Mental Health
f) Health/Nutrition
g) Health - Other
7. Learning Environment
a) Design
b) Indoor
c) Outdoor
8. Physical
a) Activities
b) Fine
c) Gross
9. Professionalism
a) Career Development
b) Child Development Associate
c) Staff Training
d) NAEYC Accreditation
10. Program Management
a) Screening & Assessment
b) Classroom Management
c) Observing/Recording
d) Developmentally Appropriate
e) Curriculum
11. Safe
a) General
b) OSHA
c) Pesticide
d) Transportation
12. Self
a) Emotional Development
b) Self Esteem
c) Growth & Development
d) Diversity
13. Social
a) Development
b) Play
Additional categories:
14. Administration
a) Administering Programs
b) Advocacy
c) Partnerships
d) Research
e) Program Evaluation
15. Children's Books
16. Disabilities
a) Awareness
b) Early Intervention
c) Legislation
d) Mainstreaming
e) Programming
17. Training
a) Communication
b) General
c) Staff
d) Training Sessions
e) Techniques
f) Team Building
In addition to the 17 categories listed above, there are sets of miscellaneous resources. A list called Resource Files has been generated and is updated periodically which contains the miscellaneous resources.
A Resource Library Manual exists which lists each item and provides the following information:
Resource Review
Title
Author
Publisher
Address/Phone
Type of Resource
Print
Slide/Cassette
Film/Cassette
mm film
Videotape
Curriculum Kit
Target Audience
Infant
Toddler
Preschool
CDA Candidate
Parent
Delegate Agency
Education Coordinator
Nutrition Staff
Heath & Disabilities
Social Service / Parent Involvement
Transportation
Resource Abstract
(Descriptive paragraph…)
CDA Functional Areas
Cognitive
Communication
Creative
Environment
Families
Guidance
Health
Physical
Professionalism
Program Management
Safe
Self
Social
Head Start Component Areas
Administration
Education
Health
Disabilities
Social Services
Parent Involvement
Nutrition
Transportation
A number of Standard Forms are available in support of the programs:
· Peer / Mentor Program
· Follow-Up Contact Log
· Time / Expense Report
· Center Visit Report
· Center Visit Feedback
The Business Need
The Home Office staff finds it time consuming, sometimes overwhelming, to keep up with assembling and distributing program materials throughout the year. Although some automation has been created (i.e., a materials database), the process is largely manual and labor-intensive. Further, the Home Office staff receives ad hoc requests for materials, and must fulfill such requests as soon as possible.
Recently, ECMHSP has installed network hardware, has establish internet connectivity, and generally has made computer resources available to its Delegate Agencies, Centers, and Field Staff. A vision of the Home Office Staff is for Field organizations and personnel to have access to the materials database, to have the means to assemble resource packages on-line and on-the-fly (similar to internet shopping), and in cases where needed resources are not available internally, automated requests can be sent to the Home Office to be developed, acquired, then fulfilled later.
Further, the Home Office staff desires conversion of all resources that can possibly be converted to electronic form so that Field personnel can access and/or download what they need directly. In cases where conversion is not possible (e.g., because of copyright law), a precise request for the materials would be generated by the Field personnel and transferred electronically to the Home Office for fulfillment.
