There is an organization called Bright from the Start which
is a state agency. They are responsible
for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and
their families. They oversee a wide
range of programs focused primarily on children ages birth to school age and
their families. They administer the
nationally recognized Georgia Pre-K program.
They license and monitor all center-based and home based child care
facilities. They oversee the federal child and adult care food program and the
summer food service program. They
provide technical assistance, training and support to families and child care
providers who care for children with special needs. When I checked for employment opportunities
they had no positions open. This is an
organization that I would like to be employed with because they monitor child
care facilities and provide policies and procedures to child care
organizations. There website is http://decal.ga.gov/Default.aspx
Smart Start, the Early Childhood Division of the United Way
of Metropolitan Atlanta, was created in May 1999 to address the pressing needs
of Georgia's youngest children and their families. With innovative state and
local programs and outreach initiatives, Smart Start has developed and
maintains strong commitments and partnerships with state agencies, child care
providers, parents, training and technical assistance organizations, and
government and business leaders to improve the quality of early care and
education for all children ages birth through five. Through its programs and
initiatives, Smart Start works to increase school readiness, with the aim of
having every child ready to succeed in school by the time they enter
kindergarten. There website is http://www.smartstartga.org/default.aspx. This site did not have an employment section.
The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is the
part of DHS that investigates child abuse; finds foster homes for abused and
neglected children; helps low income, out-of-work parents get back on their
feet; assists with childcare costs for low income parents who are working or in
job training; and provides numerous support services and innovative programs to
help troubled families. There website
is http://dfcs.dhs.georgia.gov/. This website posted some job positions many
of them were not directly associated with early childhood education, I did find
one position that services young children and it is Immunization Field Service
Manager. This position is responsible
for the day-to-day supervision of 18 immunization program consultants located
throughout the state of Georgia. This
position serves as a consultant on immunization and vaccines for children (VFC)
issues to the health districts and county health offices, VFC Providers and the
general public. Qualifications for this
position require experience in managing staff in public health or human
services, experience in the area interagency collaboration and partnership
building and experience in planning and goal management based on data and
statistical information.
The Georgia Head Start Association, Inc. (GHSA) is a statewide
non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the capability of local
Head Start programs to deliver quality services to children and their families.
GHSA represents the 30 Head Start and Early Head Start agencies in the state of
Georgia that provide these services to over 24,000 low-income preschool
children birth through five-years-old and their families. The website is http://www.georgiaheadstart.org/about/organization.php. This site posted a position for an Executive
Officer of Head Start. This position is
a high level position with the candidate having experience in general
management as well as public relations, professional development, advocacy and
fund raising.
Fawn,
ReplyDeleteI researched the Central Ohio United Way and, although I chose not to include them, they also have a Smart Start program. They support early care and education initiatives throughout my area. One area they fund is an NAEYC Accreditation project offered by a child care resource and referral agency with which I am affiliated. I have recently been given the opportunity to work with the CCR&R on this project and am going into centers to evaluate their portfolios as they prepare for their accreditation visits. The United Way funds a variety of programs through Start Smart including a number of non-profit facilities that offer supportive services for families.
Thank you for helping me to learn more about this valuable program!
Teri
Fawn,
DeleteThanks for sharing your sources. I have not heard of the Smart Start program before reading your post. It was nice to learn about a new program out there that influcences the lives of children. Thanks again for sharing. I will have to research more into that program for my state.
Fawn,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading over the organizations you chose. Those seem like some very influential organizations. Do you think it would be hard to work for any of them? I think it would be really difficult to work for the DFCS - but needed as well.
Hi Fawn!
ReplyDeleteI did not realize you lived in Atlanta. I just moved from the city about 3 months ago to Augusta, GA. I love the city of Atlanta and I think there are is a large variety of programs that focus on early childhood, but many of the programs are not utilized. However, when doing this assignment, I too thought about including Bright From The Start, but decided not to for one reason or another. Bright from the Start is a program that the US Army and Army Reserve Child Youth & School services programs receive guidance from to better serve young military children. I appreciate their website and all of the educational information it provides!
Fawn:
ReplyDeleteI see you mention Head Start too! I feel so happy to see how the company I work for is extended every where and is impacting so many states and internationally wide. If you had the opportunity to visit one of the centers please share more information about the diversity, teaching style and communication.(information and partnership)