Mental Health

The purpose of mental health services in Head Start and Early Head Start is to promote the mental well-being of children, families and staff. For infants and young children, mental health refers to social and emotional development. We believe that healthy social-emotional development begins with nurturing and responsive caregiving relationships and high-quality supportive enviroments. Head Start and Early Head Start have a strong and long standing partnership with College Skyline Counseling Center to provide mental health services to our program participants and staff. Consultants visit classrooms and provide feedback to staff and families. Consultants are also available to meet with families regarding mental health issues at their request.

Conscious Discipline

Conscious Discipline is the behavioral foundation of the Head Start and Early Head Start Birth to Five Program. It is a comprehensive social and emotional program based on current brain research, child development information and effective educational practices. It is used for classroom management and also shared with parents at Parent Trainings and during home visits. Conscious Discipline focuses on skill building and uses everyday life events to teach:

Self-control

Conflict resolutions

Character development

Social Skills

Conscious Discipline guides parents, teachers, administrators and staff through a specific process of promoting permanent behavior change. Conscious Discipline offers comprehensive transformation by teaching:

• The Seven Powers of Self-Control that empower adults to see conflict as a learning oppurtunity instead of a disruption

• The Seven Skills of Discipline enables the adult to take back their power with specific strategies that transform misbehavior into social-emtional life skills.

• The School Family is formed when the adults and children create and emotionally intelligent classroom though routines, rituals and classroom structures.

• A seamless curriculum is formed when Conscious Discipline is combined with exisitng academic curriculum. (Creative Curriculum)

*Reference Source: "Conscious Discipline: Seven Basic Skills from Brain Smart Classroom Management." - Dr. Becky A. Bailey