Mental Health

  • Mental Health Consultant

    • Head Start has a Mental Health Consultant who makes classroom observations and may consult with teachers on general classroom mental health suggestions and reccomendations.

    • The Mental Health Consultant will do individual child observations only if parents have given permission for that to occur by signing a Release of Information (ROI).

    • The Mental Health Consultant is available to talk with parents concerning issues they are facing in their lives, the lives of their children or their family.

    • The Mental Health Consultant can support the referral process for treatment or therapy outside of Head Start.

  • Positive Behavior Guidance

    • The Positive Behavior Guidance Policy is used for parents/guardians and Head Start staff to work jointly together to support good social emotional development in all children within the program.

    • Staff use many positive researched-based child guidance techniques including making changes in the environment, routines, and/or expectations to meet the child’s individual needs.

  • Social Emotional Screener

    • After 30 days, the teacher will complete an individual social-emotional assessment tool designed for preschool children

    • The DECA is used. The DECA screener provides information regarding a child's areas of strength and areas for extra support and that are still developing.

    • Each child is given target areas for the teacher to support in lessons plans to enhance their social emotional development.

  • Behavior plans

    • Behavior plans are developed informally by the teaching staff for supporting each child’s needs or a more formal behavior plan is developed with parents for a child who needs a joint school and home plan.

    • Plans include: preventive techniques, teaching problem solving strategies and takes a pre-emptive look at solving potential problems.

  • Referral Agency

    • We support other agencies and provide information and support to the referral process.

  • Second Step Curriculum

    • Promotes good social-emotional development by teaching children to label and understand feelings, how to problem solve when problems arise and practice in everyday skills

    • This curriculum is worked into the weekly lesson plans

  • Talk About Touching Curriculum

    • An anti-abuse program includes lessons on individual safety and how to handle difficult situations a child may find themselves in.

    • This curriculum is worked into the weekly lesson plans

Contact Tami Prunick at 920.331.1729 for more information.