Program Resources

The Hawaii Head Start Collaboration Office provides leadership in the development and maintenance of effective, widespread collaboration and partnerships between Hawaii Head Start grantees, Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families (ACF) officials, the State Head Start Association, early childhood professionals, and other public and private entities who have a vested interest in early childhood, including the Head Start Collaboration Advisory Committee, the Good Beginnings Alliance, the Office of the Governor, and the Keiki First Steps Early Learning Council.

The overall purposes of the Collaboration Office is to assist in building early childhood systems and access to comprehensive services and supports for low-income children; to promote collaboration between Head Start and other program services and initiatives, including child care and State preschool; and to facilitate Head Start’s involvement in State policies, plans and decisions affecting the Head Start population and other low-income families. The Collaboration Office promotes/supports initiatives in ten (10) priority areas: education, child care, welfare (TANF), child welfare (safety), health care, family literacy services, community services, services to children with disabilities, services to children who are homeless, and professional development.

In addition, this position acts as the single point of contact for statewide Head Start policy which allows the State of Hawaii to better coordinate efforts of its child care programs, which includes child care licensing, child care subsidy (payments), and Pre-Plus.

Hawaii received its first grant for the Collaboration Office in 1995. The Office was originally housed in the State Department of Education until 2000, at which time it transferred to the State Department of Human Services, where it remains today.

Currently, there is a Head Start Collaboration Office in each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. There is also a national Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Collaboration Office, as well as an American Indian/Alaska Native Collaboration Office located in Washington, D.C.

Head Start Fact Sheets

Training & Technical Assistance Network

The TTA network provides support to grantees in two ways: Grantee Support Specialists who work directly with individual grantees and State-based staff who work with groups or clusters of grantees within a state while also working closely with other members of the state's early childhood community. Grantee Support Specialists and State-based staff work in an environment that promotes cross-organizational collaboration to enable the delivery of the highest quality of support and services.

1. Grantee Support Specialist services are responsible for:

Working with the OHS Regional Office to plan and deliver individualized services to grantees
Offering onsite training and technical assistance to support individual Head Start and Early Head Start grantees' continuous program improvement and development
Engaging program directors and managers in: analyzing data to improve planning processes, advancing program and administrative systems, and developing Program Improvement and TTA Plans for overall program enhancement

2. The State Based-Office is responsible for:

Collaborating with the Head Start State Collaboration Office, Head Start Association, State Advisory Council, and other state leaders to build linkages, develop State Memoranda of Understanding, and track and respond to state and national early childhood education trends and issues
Providing TTA for groups of Head Start and Early Head Start programs, their partners, and other early childhood education programs, based on national, regional, state, and local priorities, issues, and data
Sponsoring and/or coordinating the design and delivery of state training events to address staff's professional development needs and national and state priorities
Supporting the development of state-level public/private partnerships, including work with higher education institutions, to ensure a coordinated and effective system for early childhood education.