CHAPTER 7: VOLUNTEERS IN HOME-BASED PROGRAMS

Chapter Highlights Although volunteers usually do not accompany staff on home visits, there are many ways for volunteers to be involved in home-based Head Start programs. For example, volunteers in home-based programs: Serve as policy makers and advisors. Provide direct services to Head Start families or training to staff. Provide special support, such as being a foster grandparent for a young family.

One alternative to the center-based option is the home-based option. Home-based programs focus on the parent as a full partner in the child development process. Together the parent and the home visitor plan the family's involvement in each Head Start component. Using volunteers in this model requires somewhat different approaches than using volunteers in a center-based program.

VOLUNTEERS AS POLICY MAKERS AND ADVISORS

Regardless of the option chosen, every Head Start program has a policy council or policy committee. For a program operating the home-based model, the decision making group must include parent volunteers from the home-based families.

VOLUNTEERS IN DIRECT SERVICE AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

Home-based programs use the services of volunteer professionals in much the same way as center-based programs do. For example:

• A doctor may provide examinations.
• A dentist may provide dental check-ups.
• A college professor may provide training in basic child development to both parents and staff. Parent volunteers also perform many services in the home-based option. They may:
• Volunteer to help when the children come together for a socialization experience.
  
  
• Assist with recordkeeping or other administrative tasks.
  
  
• Assist with translating or otherwise communicating with children and parents.
  
  
• Provide child care for children of other parents while the parents attend advisory or parent meetings.
  
  
• Provide transportation to medical or other agency services.
  
  
• Help prepare materials for a home visit.
  
  
• Make games and toys for home visitors to leave in homes.
  
  
• Help orient new parents to the program.
  
  Volunteers may help with other activities as well. For example, the number of teen single parents with children in Head Start programs is increasing. Often these young parents live apart from their own parents and are isolated through poverty and immaturity. Programs have had to find new ways to support these young families, such as linking them to foster grandparents. The foster grandparent provides the young parent with advice and support based on years of experience as a parent and grandparent. The foster grandparent becomes a mentor for the young parent, providing support and building self-confidence.

POLICY REFERENCES

Policy references related to volunteers in home-based programs may be found in the following sections of the publication, Head Start Policies: Volunteers and Community Resources:

Section 5: Orientation/Training of Volunteers

Section 6: Volunteers in the Education Services Component