Head Start Zero-Five Program, Para Las Familias

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Since 2007, Maricopa County Head Start Zero-Five Program has been running an innovative program called “Para Las Familias” (“For the Families”). This program, now in its fourth year of a five year Healthy Marriage Initiative federal grant, is built around the premise that healthy relationships lead to supporting healthy families; healthy families lead to healthy children; and healthy children are children who are ready to learn. Children must be healthy to learn and must learn to be healthy. Para Las Familias provides parents in the Maricopa County Head Start/Early Head Start program with workshops designed to strengthen communication, healthy relationships, and improve the parents’ ability to deal with stress. Three levels of workshops have been offered to families and a new, fourth level workshop is currently in its first offering. A fifth level workshop is currently being developed. The program is an innovative supplement to Head Start services and is offered to all Head Start/Early Head Start families in the Maricopa county Zero-Five Program.