Page 25 - PROGRAM IMPACT AND SATIFACTION AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF HEAD START PARENTS

A child at a Head Start Center learns to use a computer.
Two parents wrote that they had difficulty because of their health. One participant mentioned she or he needed more help completing his or her GED and another said that school after work would take away time she or he can spend with her or his children. Another parent wrote that it was a challenge coordinating her or his school schedule with Head Start hours. One participant mentioned that she welcomed a new grandchild into the family and needed to spend time with her family.
Roscoe Canyon had the greatest percentage of parents (19.4%) who reported that they already had a job or were going to school. The greatest percentage of parents who indicated
they had difficulty finding a job or continuing their education came from Zine (25.0%). Chart 14 on the following page presents the Head Start Centers with the greatest percentage of parents who selected each barrier provided in the survey. See Table 11 in the Appendix for more information on how Head Start Centers vary in the percentage of parents who face barriers to employment or education.
The percentage of English-speaking parents who had a job or were attending school was greater than that of Spanish-speaking parents. Of the 80 parents who indicated that they had a job or were going to school, 58.8% were English-speaking parents while 41.3% were Spanish-speaking parents. More Spanish-speaking parents, however, indicated that they had difficulty finding a job or continuing their education. Of 137 parents who reported difficulty, 59.1% were Spanish- speakers and 40.9% were English-speaking parents. A total of 135 of these parents reported the barrier(s) to their employment or education. An analyses within the groups of parents who speak the same language revealed that the majority of English-speaking parents (52.7%) had difficulty finding a job or continuing their education because of the lack of reliable child care. Two responses stood out as the most common reasons why Spanish-speaking parents had difficulty. Like English-speaking parents, Spanish-speaking parents reported that they did not have reliable child care (50.0%). Additionally, 50.0% of Spanish-speaking parents also indicated that they had difficulty because they did not have legal documentation.
What I liked the BEST about my Head Start program was:
The resources that the program has for families in need.
- Head Start Parent at Valerio
CCRC’s Head Start Parents Page | 22 December 2014