Programs & Services
EDUCATION SERVICES
Head Start
Children attend Head Start classes four days a week for three hours per day. There are two morning and two afternoon schedules, which are followed by MYCAP Head Start. There will be no classes during legal holidays and during winter and spring breaks except for Full-Day classrooms, which are open during winter and spring break. "No School" notices will be sent home. The time schedules may vary from above; therefore, parents may check with their classroom teacher for their specific classroom.
Head Start Classroom schedule
Our schedule will be available soon...
Home Visits by teachers and parent/teacher conferences
Each family will have the opportunity to participate in home visits - one at the beginning of the school year and one toward the end of the year. Home visits serve the purpose of meeting the family and helping them understand classroom expectations. Parent/Teacher Conferences are also scheduled twice a year - once during the winter and once in the spring for Head Start and Early Head Start classes. The conferences allow the parent/guardian to meet with the teacher and discuss the child's progress in the areas of behavior, muscle development, language and learning skills.
Early Head Start
The Early Head Start classrooms are currently housed at MYCAP Head Start/Early Head Start Learning Centers and several Partner Centers. The classrooms are equipped with developmentally appropriate equipment, materials and supplies and are led by qualified teachers who hold an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education.
To enhance the Early Head Start program, a certified Doula works with our pregnant women. A Doula provides physical, emotional and informational support to a woman before birth, during labor, and in the post-natal period. Research has shown that when women are supported by a Doula, they experience shorter, less medically complicated labors and less depression after birth.
Each year we look forward to expanding our Early Head Start services to more eligible women and children and their families as funding becomes available. The Early Head Start program also collaborates with the MYCAP WIC Program to provide individual nutrition assessments, nutrition education and supplemental foods to meet the growth and developmental needs of pregnant women, infants and children.
DISABILITIES SERVICES
MYCAP Head Start/Early Head Start will make very effort to ensure "reasonable accommodation in providing comprehensive, individualized child development services to eligible, professionally diagnosed children with disabilities."
Head Start/Early Head Start has established collaborative agreements with the Youngstown Board of Education and the Mahoning County Board of Education. The collaboration agreement is to ensure that early identification is made through evaluation of children suspected of having a disability.
NUTRITION SERVICES
Under the direction of a licensed dietician, MYCAP Head Start/Early Head Start provides an environment for nutritional services, which support mealtime as an opportunity for learning.
Every child enrolled in Head Start will receive two meals a day: breakfast and lunch, or lunch and a snack. These meals will provide a minimum of 1/3 of their daily nutritional needs as required by USDA Standards. Children in the Full-Day Head Start/Early Head Start classroom will receive breakfast, lunch and a snack daily (meeting 2/3 of their nutritional needs). Each child will receive menus to take home, which can assist parents in planning nutritional meals at home.
Our agency serves hot, nutritious meals to all children enrolled for care. We participate in the Ohio Child and Adult Care Feeding Program, which helps childcare sponsors serve nutritious meals by providing funds to supplement food costs.
