FINDING MORE HELP

This chapter lists other sources of help for Head Start programs planning, developing, or seeking space or funding for facilities. It includes general Head Start resources and other, more specific sources of information about buildings, property, and funds.

General Head Start Resources


Exemplary Resources

Facilities Design

Cartwright Head Start developed an award-winning Head Start facility. Head Start staff collaborated with the architect to design the classrooms and playground. Special features include abundant indoor storage space, child-sized water fountain and bathroom facilities, phones in each room, adaptable and portable furniture, and a mixture of carpeted and non-carpeted areas. The playground has a unique bike path, sand and grassy areas, a telephone communications system, and play equipment that meets the needs of all preschool children, including those with special needs. The program is located at 5480 West Campbell Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85031.

US. Army Child and Youth Services has developed standard design specifications for child care centers based upon sound principles of child development. These specifications address all aspects of centers that serve 23 to 303 children, including classroom layout, bathroom design, storage, safety, staff-child ratios, and safeguards against child abuse. The specifications and architectural blueprints are available to Head Start programs nationwide. The Army Child and Youth Services staff is located at 2461 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22331-0521.

Co-located Facilities

The Donald Al. Fraser Early Childhood Family Development Center is a "state-of-the-art" child and family development facility. The center has 58,000 square feet of space to serve 500 Head Start children. Services are provided for children from six weeks to six years old and their families. The center co-locates other agencies and services with Head Start, including a Family Service Center, school readiness, JOBS, public health, a dental clinic, and on-site services related to substance abuse, literacy, and employability. The arehitects for the center received the Illumination Design Award for their creative lighting. The family is supported by $6 million appropriation from the City of Minneapolis. Funding for the building and project coordination was provided through the Minneapolis Community Development Agency. The center is owned and operated by Parents in Community Action, Inc., the Head Start grantee for Hennepin County. The center is located at 700 Humboldt Avenue, North, Minneapolis, MN 55411.

The Jackson County Head Start Program serves 572 three- and four-year olds in four centers within the county. All four facilities are accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs (an arm of NAEYC). One of the four facilities is donated by the county; two are modular facilities, owned by Head Start on leased land; and the fourth is leased by Head Start. The network of centers provides Head Start, extended day child care, adult education, GED preparation, JOBS, and health services, and includes a computer learning center and a Parent Child Center that serves infants and toddlers and their families, as well as pregnant women. The program is located at 5343 Jefferson Street, P0 Box 723, Moss Point, MS 39563.

Migrant Facilities

The East Coast Migrant Head Start grantee has developed a Head Start center on land donated by an employer who is a major producer of fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural commodities. The center, built under a lease arrangement with the grantee, provides a cost-effective way to respond to the needs of 100 migrant children and their families. The center also serves as the base for a mobile Family Learning Center that provides tutor ing, help with homework, bilingual literacy, high school equivalency, and career development services. After the harvest, the Family Learning Center follows families to their new location. The center is located at 4200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 740, Arlington, VA 22203.

Health Code Regulations

The Navajo Head Start Program has developed model public health regulations for Head Start, child care, and other preschool facilities. The regulations address: the role of a health advisor; staff-child ratios; medical requirements and infection control; structural requirements (layout, windows, egress, square footage, handicapped accessibility, etc.); heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; lighting and electrical systems; plumbing; equipment design and installation; safety; food service; and grounds. The program is located at P0 Box 308, Window Rock, AZ 86515.

Building and Property Resources

Total Action Against Poverty (TAPP) is part of Community Action Property Access, Disposition, and Development (CAP-ADD), an informational network linking Community Action Programs (CAPs) and Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) offices, will provide information on available commercial and residential properties. TAPP is located at 145 Campbell, Roanoke, VA 24001.

Job Corps has a mandate to provide child care services to parents and, when practicable, linkages with the comprehensive child development services in Head Start when beneficial to Job Corps center students and both programs overall. Job Corps centers have the capability to construct or renovate buildings and playgrounds when Head Start programs enroll children of Job Corps students. Job Corps programs cite a priority need for programs such as Head Start's Parent Child Centers to place infants and toddlers. The Job Corps is located at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 4510, Washington, DC 20210.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Partners for Affordable Home Ownership may have homes available for eligible non profit organizations with 501(c)(3) status; State, county, and local government entities; and local housing authorities. Homes of up to four units are avail able. For more information on purchasing these and other HUD properties, contact the Chief Property Officer in your local HUD office, which is listed at the end of this section.

General Services Administration (GSA) provides information on all available U.S. real property, except that on military installations. Ask for U.S. Real Property Sales List, a quarterly listing of GSA's Federal Property Resources Service, with GSA Regional Office of Real Estate Sales contact information; Disposal of Surplus Property, and How to Acquire Surplus Federal Real Property for Educational Purposes, which includes information on the public benefit discount allowance. The address for GSA is; Office of Real Estate, Policy, and Sales, Federal Property Resources Service/GSA, 18th and F streets, NW, Washington, DC 20405.

Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) provides information on available real property on military installations. Ask for Community and OEA Staff Contacts on Major Base Closures and Realignments. Be aware that sometimes these buildings will be provided at no cost, but the land on which the building sits may not be given away, and the cost of moving the building may not be included. The OEA is located at 400 Army-Navy Drive, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22202-2884.

Federal Real Property Assistance Program, administered by the Department of Education, provides information on how to acquire surplus Federal real property for educational purposes. This program has experience in working with Head Start centers to help them acquire Federal property. This program's address is: USDE, Office of Management, Federal Real Property Assistance Program, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202.

Interagency Council on the Homeless can provide information on the McKinney Act and HUD's McKinney Homeless Assistance Programs. Head Start programs that serve homeless children may be eligible for facilities authorized under this legislation. The Council is located at 451 7th Street, SW, Room 7274, Washington, DC 20410.
National Guard Armories are sometimes rented, sold, or donated. For more information, contact the State Adjutant General under the Governor's Office, or the State Military.

Boys and Girls Clubs often rent space in their facilities for Head Start programs. Contact your local Boys and Girls Club, or call the national office at (212) 351-5906.


Funding Resources - Intermediary Organization

These organizations can often assist Head Start and child care programs to obtain financing and can provide or fund technical assistance in such areas as facilities assessment, feasibility studies, marketing studies, architectural engineering, and cost estimating. Some of the intermediary organizations that can provide technical support to Head Start programs include:

Early Childhood Facilities Fund of New Jersey (ECFF). The Prudential Foundation played a critical role in developing the ECFF. The ECFF provides a broad range of technical assistance and financing services for Head Start and child care programs located in New Jersey. The ECFF is developing a methodology for conducting on-site, community-wide facilities needs assessment and planning. The ECFF is located at 65 South Main Street, Building D, Pennington, NJ 08534.

The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in New York City, initially funded by the Ford Foundation, works in collaboration with Child Care, Inc., in a demonstration project to design, finance, and build Head Start and child care facilities in New York. LISC is part of a nationwide network of over 30 local community development corporations principally located in major cities. The LISC is located at 733 3rd Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017.

Illinois Facilities Fund (1FF) is a statewide organization created by the Chicago Community Trust to meet the credit needs of small, nonprofit, human services providers. The 1FF gives priority to new or expanded child care centers in inner city neighborhoods. The 1FF is located at 300 W. Adams, Suite 431, Chicago, IL 60606.

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) in Wiscasset, Maine, is a statewide community development corporation which provides technical assistance and financial support related to facilities to Head Start and child care programs. The CEI is located at P0 Box 268, Wiscasset, ME 04578.

Self-Help Credit Union and Self-Help Ventures Fund are financing affiliates of the Center for Community Self-Help (CCSH). Since 1989, the Center has operated a technical assistance and financing program for child care providers in North Carolina. The institution is interested in providing similar assistance to Head Start programs. The CCSH is located at 413 E. Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC 27702.

Ohio Community Development Finance Fund (CDFF), a nonprofit Ohio agency, supports community development through pre-development funds and other funding. CDFF has been given a grant by the Ohio Department of Education to develop the Ohio Facilities Project, which provides technical assistance, training, and resources for Head Stait agencies undertaking real estate projects within the State. The CDFF is located at 85 E. Gay, Suite 400, Columbus, OH 43215.

Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) awards funds for such purposes as the acquisition of property for public purposes; the con struction or reconstruction of neighborhood centers, recreation facilities, and other public works; and assistance to nonprofit entities to carry out economic development. Some Head Start programs have obtained assistance under the CDBG. Contact your Governor's Office, or the State government office responsible for economic or community d evelopment to determine which agency administers the CDBG in your area, or write the CDBG office in Washington, DC, at: Office of Block Grant Assistance, HUD, 451 7th Street, SW, Room 7286, Washington, DC 20410.

Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) have programs, such as the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), designed to subsidize the interest rate or provide direct subsidies to member institutions in lending for long-term, very-low, low- and moderate-income, owner-occupied, affordable rental housing. Creative methods may be found to use space in multi-family housing devel opments for Head Start programs. Subsidies under this program may be used with other sources of funds, such as the Bank's Community Investment Program, the Federal low-income housing tax credit program, and other assistance programs. Among AHP's priority categories are housing sponsored by nonprofit organizations and projects located in rural areas. For more information contact the FHLB in your area.

Other Resources

Public Housing Authorities and National Housing Organizations can often provide technical assistance. For more information, contact the Department of Housing and Urban Development Region/Field Office Resident Initiative Coordinator the local Public and Indian Housing Authorities (PSA/IHA); the National Association of Housing Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), 1320 18th Street, NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004; and the National Asso ciation of Resident Management Corporations (NRMC), 4524 Douglas Street, NW, Washington, DC 20019.

Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCRRA) often conduct supply and demand assessments, staff training, and seminars and workshops. The national association (NACCRRA) is locatedat 1319 F Street, NW, Suite 810, Washington, DC 20004.

Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (CEFPI), a non profit professional information organization, can assist in locating, planning, designing, equipping, and maintaining educational facilities. CEFPI is located at 8687 E. Via de Ventura, Suite 311, Scottsdale, AZ 85258.

Local community development corporations (CDC) can assist Head Start programs with facilities. For more information about community develop ment corporations, contact your local CDC (through your local government's Office of Economic Development, Office of Community Development, or Office of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs), or the National Community Reinvestment Corporation, 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1010, Washington, DC 20009.




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