SCCOE Head Start Awarded Gold Certificate

SAN JOSE, CA – With their achievement of recording a perfect score in a federal compliance review, the Santa Clara County Office of Education Head Start/Early Start programs have received Head Start's coveted "Gold Certificate."

The Santa Clara County program earned the award after being found to be in compliance with 1,700 federal regulations.

"We are so proud of this award," said Ana Trujillo, director of the program. "It shows that all the hard work by so many people has paid off."

A group of 13 federal reviewers conducted the review for SCCOE Head Start/Early Head Start programs. The team of reviewers involved program experts in areas such as early care and education, health, mental health, disabilities, family and community partnerships, governance, program design and fiscal management.

The review included thorough inspections of environments, classroom observation, intense file reviews, and interviews with parent, staff, policy council and governing board members, as well as community partners.

"To undergo such a level of scrutiny and be judged fully in compliance is just remarkable," said Joe Fimiani, interim county schools superintendent.
The SCCOE is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide Head Start services to 2,150 Head Start eligible preschool age children in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. Head Start centers are located in most cities in the two-county area, including San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell, Mountain View, Milpitas, Gilroy, and Hollister.

The Santa Clara County Office of Education is also the Early Head Start grantee in Santa Clara County. The Early Head Start Program enrolls eligible infants and toddlers and provides services in collaboration with CalSAFE (a program for teen-age mothers administered by the East Side Union High school District), Job Corps, and Parkway Child Development Programs.

For more information, visit http://www.sccoe.org/depts/headstart/.

Date last updated: June 2, 2008