The Pennsylvania Head Start Association

The Pennsylvania Head Start Association The Collective Voice of Pennsylvania Head Start:
Uniting our members to create lasting impact for Head Start children and families.

Our Mission: Pennsylvania Head Start Association improves the future for children, families, and communities who are economically challenged. Our Vision: The Pennsylvania Head Start Association advocates for children and families who are economically challenged to ensure all children reach their full potential. As a responsive, collaborative, and thriving organization, we embrace diversity, promote comprehensive services, and unify the early childhood community by leading the charge for professional development, information sharing, and advocacy.

๐Ÿšจ๐‡๐„๐€๐ƒ ๐’๐“๐€๐‘๐“ ๐‚๐Ž๐Œ๐Œ๐”๐๐ˆ๐“๐˜:  ๐–๐„ ๐‡๐€๐•๐„ ๐€ ๐‚๐‡๐€๐‹๐‹๐„๐๐†๐„ ๐…๐Ž๐‘ ๐˜๐Ž๐”.๐ŸšจPennsylvaniaโ€™s voice is already showing upโ€”and we want to keep it g...
09/11/2026

๐Ÿšจ๐‡๐„๐€๐ƒ ๐’๐“๐€๐‘๐“ ๐‚๐Ž๐Œ๐Œ๐”๐๐ˆ๐“๐˜:
๐–๐„ ๐‡๐€๐•๐„ ๐€ ๐‚๐‡๐€๐‹๐‹๐„๐๐†๐„ ๐…๐Ž๐‘ ๐˜๐Ž๐”.๐Ÿšจ

Pennsylvaniaโ€™s voice is already showing upโ€”and we want to keep it going. ๐Ÿ“ฃ๐Ÿ’™

Right now, there are two opportunities for the Head Start community to raise its voice in response to the proposed changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards. We are challenging Pennsylvania programs to make sure these opportunities reach the people they were created for.

๐Ÿ‘ฅ ๐‚๐‡๐€๐‹๐‹๐„๐๐†๐„ #๐Ÿ: ๐†๐„๐“ ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐’๐“๐€๐…๐… ๐‚๐€๐Œ๐๐€๐ˆ๐†๐ ๐“๐Ž ๐˜๐Ž๐”๐‘ ๐’๐“๐€๐…๐….

๐Ÿ“ฃ Current Head Start staff members are invited to sign onto a national joint comment urging the Administration to withdraw the proposed changes.

๐Ÿ”— Staff campaign:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCSSXo6vWenmRbFFrfBZ54J-7JZDmgfu1oNaNG7lKXGMSAyg/viewform

๐Ÿ“ฉ Share this post with your staff.
๐Ÿ’™ They live this work every day. Their voices matter.

๐Ÿก ๐‚๐‡๐€๐‹๐‹๐„๐๐†๐„ #๐Ÿ: ๐†๐„๐“ ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐…๐€๐Œ๐ˆ๐‹๐˜ ๐‚๐€๐Œ๐๐€๐ˆ๐†๐ ๐“๐Ž ๐˜๐Ž๐”๐‘ ๐…๐€๐Œ๐ˆ๐‹๐ˆ๐„๐’.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ A separate sign-on opportunity is available for current Head Start parents, grandparents, caregivers, and other family membersโ€”in English and Spanish.

๐Ÿ”— Family campaign:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQc3NVlG6SDkdEvIH2AhQ8SZDofRLgI9L9gR3SNKw41wrmHQ/viewform?fbzx=3342224509479168321

๐Ÿ’ฌ We are challenging family services staff, teachers, home visitors, and others with trusted relationships with families to help get this opportunity into their hands.

๐Ÿ“ข This is not about speaking for families.

โค๏ธ It is about making sure families have the information and opportunity to speak for themselves.

๐Ÿ”ฅ ๐Ž๐”๐‘ ๐‚๐‡๐€๐‹๐‹๐„๐๐†๐„ ๐“๐Ž ๐„๐•๐„๐‘๐˜ ๐๐„๐๐๐’๐˜๐‹๐•๐€๐๐ˆ๐€ ๐‡๐„๐€๐ƒ ๐’๐“๐€๐‘๐“ ๐๐‘๐Ž๐†๐‘๐€๐Œ:

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Reach your ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐Ÿ๐Ÿ.
๐Ÿก Reach your ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ.
๐Ÿ“ฃ Help make sure ๐๐ž๐ง๐ง๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐š๐ง๐ข๐š ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐.

โฐ Both sign-on campaigns close September 25, 2026.

๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ“ฃ๐Ÿก ๐‹๐ž๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ž ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ž๐ง๐ง๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐š๐ง๐ข๐šโ€™๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ ๐ž๐ญ.

๐Ÿ”ฆProgram Spotlight: Community Services for Children๐Ÿ’™ Parent involvement is not an extra part of Head Start โ€” it is centr...
09/09/2026

๐Ÿ”ฆProgram Spotlight: Community Services for Children

๐Ÿ’™ Parent involvement is not an extra part of Head Start โ€” it is central to what makes Head Start work.

Head Startโ€™s approach to family engagement recognizes families as advocates, leaders, and essential partners in decisions that shape programs and services. Policy Councils and parent committees create formal opportunities for parents to share their experiences, influence decisions, and help programs stay responsive to the families and communities they serve. Research and federal Head Start guidance also connect strong family engagement with positive outcomes for children, families, and communities.

โœจ Jhanna is a powerful example of that leadership in action.

In May, she shared her story during her programโ€™s annual Parent Recognition Event. Just a few months later, she participated in a parent panel during their All Preschool Preservice event, helping staff hear directly from the people at the heart of this work.

And her leadership extends beyond her local program. Jhanna also serves as a Board Director for the Pennsylvania Head Start Association, helping ensure parent voice is represented in conversations and decisions happening at the statewide level.

We are incredibly proud to be connected to a parent leader like Jhanna โ€” someone willing to share her experiences, use her voice, and help strengthen Head Start for families across Pennsylvania.

Because when parents have meaningful opportunities to lead, Head Start is stronger.

09/08/2026

๐Ÿ’™ We are so proud of our Head Start families.

Take a few moments to hear Jamiaโ€™s story and the impact Head Start has had on her and her family.

Stories like Jamiaโ€™s remind us that Head Start is about so much more than early learning โ€” it is about supporting families, building relationships, and creating opportunities that can have a lasting impact.

๐ƒ๐ข๐ฌ๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐๐š๐›๐ฅ๐ž ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ง ๐‚๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง (๐€๐‚๐„)!๐Ÿ‘‰ Complete a general interest form here t...
09/08/2026

๐ƒ๐ข๐ฌ๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐๐š๐›๐ฅ๐ž ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ง ๐‚๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง (๐€๐‚๐„)!

๐Ÿ‘‰ Complete a general interest form here to speak with an enrollment counselor. https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=iUF7mgDnzUO34yg9YDfDUCyV0NPgwTBNnHnU_eilX6pUQkNCQkFQQTkwWDdBQklPUkRZNUxIWFFHRC4u

๐Ÿ‘‰ Join a free webinar hosted by the American College of Education (ACE) to learn more about ACEโ€™s affordable, flexible online degree and certificate programs designed for working educators.
https://aceedu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3RevC8CBQL-_OZHLg_vxmg #/registration

๐Ÿ‘‰ Email Nick Schneider at [email protected] to see if you and your staff are eligible for a tuition reduction.

๐Ÿ“… Date: September 22nd
๐Ÿ•– Time: 7:00 PM
๐Ÿ‘‰ Register here to attend the webinar.
https://aceedu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3RevC8CBQL-_OZHLg_vxmg #/registration

๐Ÿšจ 988 voices have already taken action. Now, weโ€™re setting a September challenge: 2,500.Nearly 1,000 people have already...
09/04/2026

๐Ÿšจ 988 voices have already taken action. Now, weโ€™re setting a September challenge: 2,500.

Nearly 1,000 people have already spoken up to protect the quality, health, and safety standards that strengthen Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

๐Ÿ“ฃ Throughout September, help us keep that momentum going.

If youโ€™ve already taken action, share this post and ask one more person to join you. If you havenโ€™t, a letter is already drafted and ready to send to your state and federal legislators in just a few minutes.

988 voices got us started. Letโ€™s make 2,500 impossible to ignore.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Take action here: https://startstrongpa.org/take-action

๐Ÿ“ฃ๐—›๐—›๐—ฆ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ โ€œ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†.โ€ ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜.T...
09/02/2026

๐Ÿ“ฃ๐—›๐—›๐—ฆ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ โ€œ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†.โ€ ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜.

The proposal could mean larger class sizes, fewer teachers and home visitors, fewer program hours, reduced health, mental health, and dental services, lower wages in key positions, weaker safety protections, and additional barriers and paperwork for families.

๐‘ป๐’‰๐’† ๐’‡๐’Š๐’๐’† ๐’‘๐’“๐’Š๐’๐’• ๐’Ž๐’‚๐’•๐’•๐’†๐’“๐’”.

๐Ÿ“„ The Pennsylvania Head Start Association is sharing a new ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ณ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ outlining what is included in the proposal, what HHSโ€™s own Regulatory Impact Analysis projects, and why these changes raise serious concerns for Head Start children, families, staff, and programs.

Read the ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ณ: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_3PgkG_TONjolbYNqanASxoYv6tBeSxL/view

Read the ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UTvsX72sQzhhudeu0MAKpNBwVhDc0sxI/view

๐Ÿ’ฌ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ณ: We want you prepared to use your voice. Join your September Community of Practice to learn more about the proposed changes, talk through what they could mean in your area of work, and receive support for submitting your own public comment.

๐Ÿ”— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ for your September Community of Practice through our Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/paheadstartassociation

๐Ÿค ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€, ๐—ข๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜: Join the Pennsylvania Head Start Association for our Community Partner Meeting where we will walk through the proposal, discuss the potential impact on Head Start and the communities it serves, and share information about the public comment process.

๐Ÿ”— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ for the September 23 | 10:00a Community Partner Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/FjfWm-oHTAiJ1uR3bQ9g1w

๐Ÿ“ข The proposed rule is open for public comment through ๐—ข๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿฒ, ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ. Head Start staff, families, community partners, and supporters have an opportunity to share what these proposed changes could mean in communities across Pennsylvania.

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ณ.
๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ.
๐—๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป.
๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜.

โ˜€๏ธ A strong transition into preschool can make a big difference.This summer, Capital Area Head Start hosted a four-week ...
09/02/2026

โ˜€๏ธ A strong transition into preschool can make a big difference.

This summer, Capital Area Head Start hosted a four-week transition program for 33 Early Head Start children preparing to enter Head Start preschool โ€” and the results were pretty incredible.

๐Ÿ“ˆ Children classified as Preschool Ready in self-help skills increased from 33% to 73%.

๐Ÿ’› In social-emotional skills, including expressing, noticing, and naming feelings, Preschool Ready increased from 33% to 70%.

๐ŸŒŸ Among children who had room to grow, 92% demonstrated progress during the four-week program.

And the numbers only tell part of the story.

Teachers watched children learn classroom routines, build friendships, solve problems together, strengthen communication skills, and grow in independence โ€” including two children becoming fully potty trained.

One teacher shared:

โ€œThis program to transition the little ones into preschool is truly valuable and needed.โ€

๐Ÿ‘ We love seeing Pennsylvania Head Start programs create thoughtful, intentional opportunities like this to help children enter their next learning environment feeling more confident, connected, and ready to thrive.

Please join us for a special webinar focusing on:Head Start update and opportunities to take actionChild Care Staff Recr...
08/31/2026

Please join us for a special webinar focusing on:

Head Start update and opportunities to take action
Child Care Staff Recruitment & Retention Program
State legislation updates
Join us and learn all the ways you can speak up for Head Start!

Acompรกรฑanos en un webinar especial sobre los siguientes temas:

actualizaciรณn de Head Start y oportunidades para tomar acciรณn
programa de contrataciรณn y retenciรณn de personal en cuidados infantiles
actualizaciones de la legislaciรณn estatal
ยกรšnete a nosotros y aprende todas las formas en que puedes alzar la voz por Head Start!

When: Thursday, September 17, 2026 12:30 PM
Where: Register in advance for this Zoom webinar
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Cuรกndo: jueves, 17 de septiembre de 2026 a las 12:30 p.m.
Dรณnde: se requiere registro previo para este webinar por Zoom.
Luego de registrarte, recibirรกs un correo electrรณnico de confirmaciรณn con informaciรณn para unirte al webinar.

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bMliDTrPSCqQTarh07LcCQ #/

๐Ÿ’ก ๐‡๐„๐€๐ƒ ๐’๐“๐€๐‘๐“ ๐ˆ๐’ ๐๐”๐ˆ๐‹๐“ ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐…๐…๐„๐‘๐„๐๐“๐‹๐˜.๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿฝโ€๐Ÿซ Head Start Preschool happens primarily in classroom settings, but the relationshi...
08/28/2026

๐Ÿ’ก ๐‡๐„๐€๐ƒ ๐’๐“๐€๐‘๐“ ๐ˆ๐’ ๐๐”๐ˆ๐‹๐“ ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐…๐…๐„๐‘๐„๐๐“๐‹๐˜.

๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿฝโ€๐Ÿซ Head Start Preschool happens primarily in classroom settings, but the relationship with families extends far beyond the classroom through regular home visits and ongoing family engagement.

๐Ÿ‘ถ Early Head Start can look different. Depending on the program and community, services may be provided through a center-based or home-based model.

๐“๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฑ๐ข๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ฐ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž: ๐ฌ๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ž๐ ๐š๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ง๐ž๐ž๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ง, ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ.

๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ด.

๐Ÿ“Š In one large long-term study, ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ข๐ฉ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘% ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ•% ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐›๐ฅ๐ข๐œ ๐š๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž.

๐Ÿ’ฅ This is what happens when ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐›๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ -๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ.

๐Ÿ“š Research: Bailey, Sun & Timpe (2021), American Economic Review | https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20181801

๐Ÿ’œ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒIf national statistics are reflected in your local Head Start program, ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐...
08/28/2026

๐Ÿ’œ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ

If national statistics are reflected in your local Head Start program, ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ง ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐ซ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐š ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐š ๐’๐ฎ๐›๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐”๐ฌ๐ž ๐ƒ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ž๐ซ (what you think of as addiction).

Treatment for SUD is effective and available throughout Pennsylvania; ๐ฉ๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐จ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ!

Often, children are a big motivator for parents to change their behavior and engage in recovery. Iโ€™ve worked with parents in recovery for many years and have found that the challenges of being a recovering parent are many, but with the support of caring professionals in Head Start, and other child-serving programs, ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐๐จ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž.

๐ŸŒฑ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ

You may not always know if a parent of a child in your program is in recovery from SUD โ€” and all parents need support and understanding โ€” but you can do a lot to encourage and help parents in recovery.

๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐š ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ:

โค๏ธ ๐‘๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง.
Remember that each parent is a human being and while substance use may have caused some to make poor choices, they love their kids.

๐Ÿค ๐…๐ข๐ง๐ ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐.
Common ground communication is important; we all care about our children. Being smug and/or condescending creates a barrier. Promote dignity and help to empower us to change.

๐ŸŒฟ ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ.
What works for one person does not always work for another. Donโ€™t paint all recovering parents with the same brush.

๐Ÿ’ฌ ๐„๐ง๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐š๐œ๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐š๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ.
Help parents to become accountable. Donโ€™t use their honesty to punish. Hold yourself accountable too. Be realistic and direct, not confrontational.

๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ ๐”๐ง๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ž๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ.
Expect that you will be lied to at some point. Honesty is often much scarier than the truth. Lying is at times a deep protective action.

โœจ ๐๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ฏ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ.
Believe in our ability to get well and encourage us to believe that we can get and stay clean and sober.

๐ŸŒฑ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ง๐š๐ฆ๐ž ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ.
Realize that it took many years to get sick; it is going to be a process getting better. Encourage the changes you see and point out the growth you notice; many times recovering parents are blind to the progress they have made and tend to get stuck. You may be the only positive person in their life.

๐Ÿ’› ๐€๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ฆ๐ž.
Avoid judging, shaming and guilt-filled messages.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ง ๐‹๐ž๐š๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
Treat them as you would hope someone would treat your own children or family in this situation.

๐Ÿ“š ๐–๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž?
To learn more about how Substance Use Disorder impacts parenting and children, and how to help and support parents in recovery, attend or schedule a training session.

๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐š๐œ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž:
๐๐ž๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž๐ซ, ๐Œ๐’๐€, ๐‚๐€๐€๐, ๐‚๐…๐‘๐’
๐Ÿ“ž 717-982-9676
โœ‰๏ธ [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
๐ŸŒ [www.familyrecoverytraining.com](http://www.familyrecoverytraining.com)

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