Federal Goals and Priorities of the Head Start-State Collaboration Office

Since 1990, the Office of Head Start has funded Head Start-State Collaboration Office (HSSCO) grants to support the development of multi-agency and public/private partnerships at the state and local levels. Washington received its first grant in 1996. The HSSCO is housed at the Department of Early Learning (DEL). The three primary goals of these partnerships are:

  • Help build early childhood systems and access to comprehensive services for all low-income children
  • Encourage widespread collaboration between Head Start and other appropriate programs, services and initiatives and augment Head Start’s capacity to be a partner in state initiatives on behalf of children and their families
  • Facilitate the involvement of Head Start in the development of state policies, plans, processes and decisions affecting the Head Start target population and other low-income families

The Head Start-State Collaboration Offices play an important role in building partnerships at the state and local levels to ensure Head Start's participation in systems-integration strategies to benefit low-income children and families. Head Start and Early Head Start staff, other early care and education professionals, Head Start Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) providers, policymakers, and state and local organizations will benefit from the resources and contacts developed by and for the State Collaboration Offices.

The Head Start Act of 2007 identifies the following nine priority areas for Head Start-State Collaboration Offices:

  • Child Care: This includes making full working day and full calendar year services available to children.
  • Health/Mental Health Care
  • Welfare: This includes child welfare services/child protective services, services provided for children in foster care and children referred to Head Start programs by child welfare agencies.
  • Services for Children with Disabilities
  • Community Service Activities: This includes promotion of partnerships between Head Start agencies, schools, law enforcement, relevant community-based organizations, and substance abuse and mental health treatment agencies to strengthen family and community environments and to reduce the impact of substance abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, and other high-risk behaviors that compromise healthy child development.
  • Services to Homeless Children
  • Family Literacy Services
  • Education: This includes promotion of reading readiness programs, including such programs offered by public and school libraries, services offered by museums, other early childhood education and development for limited English proficient children, partnerships to promote inclusion of more books in Head Start classrooms, and professional development.
  • Professional Development