Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
3 <br />Needs Assessment Findings -Key Issues <br />Early Childhood Care and Education Issues <br />• Families prefer friend or relative child care but find it unreliable. <br />• Families want opportunities for learning English and social interactions from <br />child care situations. <br />• Need Spanish speaking staff and interpreters in child care settings. <br />• Head Start is not available for all families who want it. <br />• Families are on waiting list for subsidy. <br />• Day care remains expensive for those who do not quality for subsidy. <br />• Need transportation to child care. <br />Task Force Recommendations <br />- Create Hispanic Center as central place for resources, information, education, <br />support (including a mobile unit). <br />- More ESL classes accessible to parents (e.g. at Head Start settings). <br />- More Bilingual Resource Coordinator positions. <br />- Broaden Health Choice coverage to non-U.S. born children. <br />- Need therapists to help children with trauma of coming to U.S. <br />- Connect ESL class content to parenting, child development and life skills. <br />- Need Spanish speaking liaison to help parents and children transition to child <br />care. <br />- Create a network of specialized professional translators. <br />- Provide expanded transportation to Head Start. <br />- Expand Head Start eligibility and spaces to serve more children. <br />- Encourage bilingual hiring practices in community agencies. <br />- Need Northern Orange bilingual health services. <br />- Provide educational videos and materials in Spanish in health facility waiting <br />rooms. <br />- Develop a pool of translators/ interpreters for parents. <br />- Provide child care subsidy for a parent who would serve as translator and <br />liaison to parents in child care settings. <br />- Provide cultural sensitivity training with an incentive for child care providers. <br />