CELEBRATING Over 35 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE!

Disabilities Services supports families and children in various ways, including but not limited to:

• Informing parents of their Rights and Due Process in Special Education

• Providing families with resources and ideas to work with their child at home

• Providing  workshops

• Advocating for the special education services the children are entitled to

• Attending Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP) and/or Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings with the families

• Working closely with Teachers/Home Base Visitors to refer children who are suspected of having a disability to the appropriate Local Education Agency (LEA) and/or Regional Center, with the parents' written consent.

Plaza’s educational goal is to cultivate a foundation of knowledge, skills and life-long learning by empowering our children, families and communities. Our program provides comprehensive early childhood development services with special emphasis on promoting school readiness in the areas of language and literacy, cognitive development, science, mathematics, social-emotional and physical skills development.

The Family Services department supports and strengthens parent-child relationships and engages families around children’s learning and development. The uniqueness of each family drives the work of staff as it builds relationship with families. Parents and families are supported in achieving their own goals, such as housing stability, continued education, and financial security. Family service staff also provide resources and referrals, crisis intervention, opportunities for community involvement and support to develop literacy, leadership and employment skills.

The health of each child is essential to their participation and learning in the program. A healthy child is a child ready to participate and thrive in school. Our goal is to ensure that every family has continuous access to quality medical and dental care. As a part of our program, age-appropriate vision and hearing screenings are completed for every child in the program to assess any possible concerns. In addition, we partner with community providers to bring children and families additional services and screenings, such as vision exams, dental screenings, health screenings, and education.

Mental Health is a child’s (birth to 5 years) growing ability to experience, regulate, and express emotions. The Mental Health Coordinator works collaboratively with parents and staff to provide support in the social emotional development of all children enrolled in our program. Our Head Start and Early Head Start programs partner with mental health consultants and local agencies to ensure children, families, and staff have access to prevention and intervention services.

Nutrition was one of the founding principles of Head Start and at Plaza de la Raza we continue to provide this fundamental service of providing children nutritious meals.  The primary goal of the nutrition services team is to ensure that Head Start children attain and maintain the best possible nutritional status. To accomplish this, children’s nutrition statuses are assessed and any concerns are addressed through nutrition intervention and appropriate referrals.