As a former Head Start director, diehard Head Start advocate and founding director of the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative, I want to ask you to take time to consider the opportunities that the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) has created to address the social and emotional needs of children and adults in your program. Since the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative began in 1997, we have had outstanding feedback from the Head Start community as to how our strength-based assessments, resources and professional development opportunities have helped Head Start Programs meet the mental health performance standards. In addition, the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) Program has helped reduce challenging behaviors and promote resilience in children and adults.
While competing programmatic needs force Head Start programs to make difficult budget decisions, the ARRA is providing a unique funding opportunity to institute long-term systems to promote children's social and emotional health. With the current economic situation putting greater stress on more and more families, it is a critical time to address the mental health needs of our children and families.
Please take the time to learn about the DECA Program and how our resources and professional development opportunities can support your programs in meeting screening and assessment requirements for behavior; support and increase staff's understanding of children's social and emotional health; and build resilience in children and adults using strength-based strategies in the home and at school. The ARRA provides an opportunity to support "start up" for the DECA Program, and in subsequent years, the initial investment can be sustained by utilizing trained staff that have become proficient with the DECA Program. As a former Head Start director, I know the DECA Program is a perfect match for the Head Start Performance Standards. Please contact our office at (610) 542-3108 or email us at deca@devereux.org. We will be happy to provide you with additional information.
Sincerely, Linda Likins National Director Devereux Early Childhood Initiative
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