"A Head Start Family: Narrative A

This narrative documents the family’s life from October of 1997 to December of 1998. Data contributing to this report were obtained from semi-structured home interviews, structured parent interviews, teacher reports, child assessments, as well as monthly telephone contacts from November of 1997 to December of 1998. The names of the family members have been changed to protect their confidentiality.

The Head Start Child

David was a four-year-old White boy who lived with his mother, Wynette, and older sister, Bethany, in a small, southwestern town. David enrolled in Head Start during the fall of 1997 and attended class four days a week for five hours a day. He lived fifteen minutes away from the center and typically came to school each morning by bus. Wynette described him as a child that is “playful and weird,” explaining that he “likes to act and dress up like a little girl.” Both in the fall and spring parent interviews, she reported it was very true that David accepted his friends’ ideas easily when sharing and playing and that he readily made friends. Yet, despite his congenial nature, Wynette elaborated, “He [also] loves to pick on people.” “Sometimes he’s [even] hateful to his sister; loveable when he wants to be.” When asked about his favorite activities, she replied that he enjoyed “playing with cars and trains” and, although he tended to trip, stumble, and fall easily, engaging in physical play such as “wrestling.”

According to Wynette, in the fall of 1997, David could recognize most of the letters in the alphabet, identify the colors red, yellow, blue, and green, and count up to twenty. He could also hold his pencil properly and liked to write or pretend to write, including his first name; however, some letters were sometimes backwards. Later, during the spring parent interview in 1998, Wynette not only observed that David could count up to fifty but also could recognize thirty written numbers and identify up to ten blocks. David had a good imagination, enjoyed learning, and liked to try new things, yet he was sometimes restless and made changes with difficulty. As early as the fall of 1997, David would sit and look at a book with pictures, pretending to read to himself, but he did more than just describe each picture—he connected them in an integrated story. In particular, while Wynette reported that he enjoyed being read to for approximately twenty minutes at one time in the fall of 1997, his attention span for reading increased to thirty minutes by the spring of 1998. There were a variety of reading materials in the home, including children’s books, adult novels and non-fiction books, and other religious and reference items such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. Whereas Wynette, her live-in partner, Mark, and another non-household member all had time to read to David during the week prior to the fall parent interview in 1997, no one read to him during the week before the spring interview in 1998.

When asked about his behavior, Wynette depicted David as a high-strung, nervous child who often had temper tantrums and was sometimes disobedient at home. While Wynette only indicated spanking David twice during the week prior to the fall parent interview in 1997 and not at all during the same time period before the spring interview in 1998, the number of times that she used time out as a discipline technique increased from two to six times from the fall of 1997 to the spring of 1998. Interestingly, although Wynette and David’s teacher agreed that, very often, he made friends easily and accepted peers’ ideas in sharing and playing, his teacher contradicted the idea that he hit or fought with others, had temper tantrums, or ignored classroom directions or rules. In particular, teacher ratings from the spring of 1998 affirmed that David very often waited his turn during games or other activities and assisted in putting away classroom materials.

Despite his somewhat volatile nature and the fact that David was both a witness to and a victim of violent crime and domestic violence, Wynette reported that he would help and comfort others in both her fall and spring parent interviews. Overall, both Wynette and David’s teacher believed that he was a happy child with a good self-esteem; he appeared to act his age and never seemed to worry for too long or feel worthless or inferior.

David had a regular health care provider. He received routine care paid for by Medicaid from a private doctor or HMO. Although Wynette described David’s health as excellent, she also reported that he suffered from a chronic illness for at least six months and that he was sick with “a virus” in December and January of 1997. Telephone conversations in July of 1998 revealed that David was susceptible to seizures and, unfortunately, he was taken to the nearest emergency room where he received an injection of Benadryl to reduce serious inflammation. Afflicted by the threat of seizures several months thereafter, David continued taking medication until November of 1998 in order to prevent this condition. Additionally, a severe ear infection in September of 1998 nearly impaired his hearing. During her fall parent interview in 1997, Wynette further reported that, despite the fact that David would sometimes stammer and was not easily understand by strangers, he did not have a disability.

When asked about her hopes and goals for David during his first year in Head Start, Wynette illuminated that she hoped “that he does real good in school and passes to ‘kiddygarden,’ and he learns to write better his name.” When specifically asked about her son’s short- or long-term educational goals, Wynette expressed, “I hope that he graduates. That he really learns while he’s younger and it’s [school] not just to go and play around with.” She would very much like David to “become something he really wants to become like a doctor or a lawyer and be really good at it.”

Both before and after enrollment in Head Start, David and his siblings were never placed in child care. Prior to August of 1998, despite expressing a moderate need for help taking care of her children’s daily needs, weekends with his biological father, who lived within an hour’s ride, were the only form of child care support that Wynette experienced.

The Head Start Family

During the initial seven months documented in this narrative, the family experienced much instability due to Mark’s alcoholism, and, as a result, Wynette, David, and Bethany moved three times. Early in September of 1997, Mark and Wynette separated, and the family moved in with Wynette’s parents. However, just three months later, in December of 1997, Wynette, David, and Bethany moved back to live with Mark. Wynette described those circumstances that alleviated her anxiety about his drinking habits via a telephone interview in November of 1997. She explained, “There’s a lot going on, but nothing new. Mark has stopped drinking and only has a few in the evening instead of a whole case.” Shorter-lived than the last arrangement, they left Mark again in January of 1998 and moved back with Wynette’s parents. She elaborated, “He made me so mad one time I banged the telephone on the floor until it broke.” Wynette recognized her need to better manage her emotions, “I have to stop behaving that way—that was a very bad thing to do.”

Household instability resurfaced in the spring of 1998, however, when her new partner and husband-to-be, Tom, entered into the picture, and Wynette and her family moved from Tom’s parents’ home to a one-bedroom apartment and, eventually, to a three-bedroom trailer of their own. In June of 1998, difficulties with her new in-laws, Ralph and Betty, precipitated her family’s move into a one-bedroom apartment where they happily acquired two pot-bellied pigs, named Gordie and Babe, to add to their menagerie of dogs and cats. Later, in July of 1998, Wynette and Tom were fortunate enough to buy a trailer, situated on what appeared to be a sprawling five acres. During this telephone contact, the interviewer noted, “Wynette loves living in the country and having her own place. Her parents bought her a dishwasher over the weekend.” It was at this time that Marcus and Audrey, an unrelated, married couple who knew Tom, also temporarily moved in with the family to help refurbish the property in exchange for rent. Wynette recounted incidents of verbal abuse and threats when Marcus berated his 16-year-old, pregnant wife in front of her family. During a telephone interview in July of 1998, she relayed, “His wife was due any minute—the woman, he treats like a dog. He says things like, ‘You shut up, or I’ll slap you down. And, if you try to put me in jail, you’ll lose your kid.’” In constant flux, Wynette experienced more hardships when, in September of 1998, she planned to divorce Tom and to live with her parents for an indefinite period of time. Wynette said, “He beat me. He is no longer working.” No more household changes were reported until November of 1998 when Wynette’s sister moved out of her parent’s home, leaving Wynette to care for her five nieces and nephews, ages 9-13, who remained in the house while their mother and father worked full-time. While her family experienced myriad household changes both in terms of geographics and composition, Wynette proudly affirmed the safety and security of her children while in her care. Having reinforced the idea that David never lived apart from her, she proudly stated, “I always take care of my babies.”

A 25-year-old, high school graduate who was single and unemployed, Wynette reported that her poor health often prevented her from working and even from looking for a job. David’s biological father did not have a high school diploma or a GED but was employed as a machine operator and an assembler. In January of 1997, he began to contribute to his son’s financial well-being. Prior to the fall home interview in 1997, he rarely saw David. Wynette relayed one unexpected occasion when David’s biological father and his girlfriend “offered to take them [David and Bethany] for a day, and they came back with all kinds of stories about what a good time they had and all kinds of presents from their dad and other relatives on his side of the family.” “They now want to trot him [David] out like trophies on holidays.” Wynette continued in earnest, “David’s glad to find out who his dad is,” and “maybe he’ll take the kids again sometime-- he tries to help out a little.” Tom, Wynette’s sometimes live-in partner in the spring of 1998, did not have a high-school diploma or a GED but was employed with two jobs, working regularly at a large, discount chain and part-time as a carpet cleaner. When living with the family, he contributed to the household income.

Early in the narrative when Wynette was living with Mark, she reported that her monthly household income ranged between $500-$1,000. It rose to $1,500 -$2,000 in the spring of 1998 when combined with Tom’s fiscal support. Since David’s birth, Wynette received food stamps, WIC, Medicaid, and income assistance. She also benefited from various social services provided by community agencies. These resources included counseling to better cope with family violence and legal aid in the fall of 1997 and mental health as well as alcohol/drug abuse treatment in both the fall of 1997 and the spring of 1998. Although she did not receive education assistance until the spring of 1998, early on during a telephone conversation in November of 1997, Wynette forecast that she would pursue her GED and, later, aspired to obtain a degree in computers. When asked whether Head Start had helped her to secure this assistance, Wynette explained that she already received support before David enrolled in Head Start. However, she reported that Head Start had directly provided help with medical and dental care for both the children and adults in her family during her fall and spring parent interviews. In December of 1997, Wynette attempted to appeal to the courts, seeking SSI benefits and hoping to reinstate David’s Medicaid which, eventually, was restored during June of 1998. In January of 1997, she began babysitting in her parent’s home, five to seven days per week, from 8:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., and earned approximately $50 each week in an effort to help support her family.

Fortunately, due to a lack of stringent work commitments, Wynette was able to devote a great deal of time to David and her other children. During the week prior to the fall parent interview in 1997, Wynette relayed that she taught David letters, words, and numbers, often when singing songs, playing counting games, or reading books together. While she also encouraged David to help with household chores, spoke with him about television programs, videos, and his Head Start day before both interviews, she brought him along during errands, read or told him a story, collaborated with him during an arts and crafts activity, and even joined him at a sporting event during the week prior to the spring parent interview in 1998. She further reported a visit to the mall and the opportunity for him to learn about his family history when reflecting on the previous month’s activities with David. By contrast, trips to a playground or a park predominated when interviewed in the spring of 1998. Specifically, during her fall parent interview, Wynette reported that Mark also took David along on errands, helped to teach him letters, words, and numbers, and played with him indoors. Tom, her new partner by the spring of 1998, accompanied David to a community or other ethnic activity and brought him to a playground or a park during the month prior to the spring interview in 1998.

In a telephone interview in July of 1998, Wynette shared that, at best, her family could fulfill seven out of nineteen fundamental family needs. Later, in December of 1998, her need decreased slightly when she relayed that half, ten out of nineteen, of their basic needs were met. From a broad view, in July, while she frequently had enough food for three meals a day and enough money to buy basic necessities, she almost never could pay her monthly bills. By contrast, Wynette frequently had enough food for three meals and money to pay her monthly bills, but she could only sometimes purchase basic necessities, including food and clothing. Additionally, Wynette almost always felt that she had enough opportunities to spend quality time with her children and family during both time periods. Conversely, during both months, she rarely or never had the chance to afford family entertainment, purchase personal items, travel, or even socialize with friends or be alone. When asked about those family strengths that she admired the most, Wynette expressed, “Everybody helps one another in our family. We are all there to find out what we can do-- we back each other up. We just have a good, loving family.” “We’re very close, and that’s it.” Despite her positive thoughts and feelings, Wynette also characterized behaviors that the family could improve. “All of us fight-- once one starts a fight, everyone tries to get in.” Contrary to her previous statements, she continued, “They don’t stick up for the one who’s trying to do right.” In her home interview in the fall of 1997, Wynette reflected, “That’s me, I’m the one trying to do right by moving back in with Mark. They say I’m stupid and crazy. They say it’s too soon. As soon as we get back together, he’ll start drinking again, but he hasn’t, and we’ve been back together about a month now. We have a beer once in a while for a special occasion, like his brother’s birthday.”

Wynette had a regular health care provider in both the fall of 1997 and the spring of 1998. Various family members suffered from colds and the flu throughout December, January, and March of 1997 and, later, from recurring colds and ear infections during July and August of 1998. In February of 1997, David’s sister, Bethany, contracted hepatitis and was sick for two weeks. Fortunately, even though the entire family had to have shots, no one else became ill. Sadly, Wynette reported how, in the fall of 1997, her mother-in-law, Betty, was diagnosed with diverculitis and, later, in December of 1998, was hospitalized with both this condition and diabetes. Additionally, her father-in-law, Ralph, was hospitalized due to major surgery for oral cancer in June of 1997. Wynette elaborated about Betty’s condition, “She’ O.K., now, when she takes her medicine. They’re still trying to find out what kind of cancer she has.” One uncle also passed away, and two others experienced open-heart surgery in November of 1998.

Ironically, Wynette reported her health status as very good in the fall of 1997, yet she had extensive dental problems and received assistance in February of 1997 in order to begin rehabilitation. Further complicating her life were chronic seizures and difficulties with her liver that resulted in multiple hospitalizations in June, August, October, and November of 1998. During telephone interviews in 1998, Wynette recalled, perhaps, the two gravest incidents. In August of 1998, she recounted how her children called a neighbor who alerted the paramedics. The interviewer noted, “She’s very proud of the children and feels they saved her life!” Wynette also experienced a grueling seizure that lasted forty-five minutes –much longer than usual—in October and had to be hospitalized for several hours. Later during December, her liver enzymes were “real high,” and, during this interview, she noted, “[I] may have to go on dialysis.” Beginning in January of 1997, Wynette acknowledged that she had emotional problems and that she was suffering from depression. Having recognized that her drinking had become a problem, she began to attend AA meetings and started counseling with a private therapist in a neighboring town. A suicide attempt raised the issue of commitment to the local hospital. Wynette did not want to be hospitalized, and she adamantly expressed that she ”wants to be able to see the children and take care of them.” Because she continued to be severely depressed in February of 1997, she attended therapy once a week, hoping that “weekly counseling sessions and medication will help my situation and keep me out of the hospital.” By March of 1997, Wynette reported feeling better, although she was still undergoing counseling. She explained that her therapist was very concerned about “what I’m writing in my diary” and is afraid “I’m gonna’ hurt myself again” and, accordingly, planned to “talk to me everyday [during the] week.” Fearing the worst outcome, Wynette remarked that her counselor might “have to put me in a hospital to keep me from hurtin’ myself.” In the fall of 1997, when Wynette and her partner, Mark, tried to be together again, she relayed how their continued difficulties undermined her efforts at rehabilitation. “He never lets me leave,” and “I keep telling him that he has to go get his own help, and I have to go and get mine and then maybe we can get together, maybe.”

Wynette continued her counseling sessions on an intermittent basis, her attendance and absence mirroring the diverse transitions in her life. For example, in June of 1998, around the time when Wynette, Tom, and the family moved away from struggles with their in-laws and to their own one-bedroom apartment, Wynette discontinued therapy on a weekly schedule, but she resumed her sessions in September when the couple planned a divorce. Ironically, while Wynette denied having emotional problems during her September telephone interview, she emphasized the fact that both she and her mother were undergoing counseling to focus on improved communication. In particular, Wynette noted that she no longer wanted to “yell at her [mother] like a crazy woman,” and she felt more motivated to join parenting and relationship classes. Wynette remained very hopeful, affirming that she considered signing herself into “the hospital again,” yet thought that she could “do this on my own.” Later, in October, Wynette even encouraged her daughter, Bethany, to participate in counseling for dealing with attention deficit disorder and difficulties with anger management.

When asked about her need for social support, Wynette expressed a very great need for intimate support -- someone to confide in about personal and private matters. She mentioned that she was able to talk with her mother, sister, friend, therapist, and Head Start staff, yet she only reported being slightly satisfied with these resources. Interestingly, when specifically asked about her need for parenting advice, including information on how to better care for her children’s daily needs, or for ways to better manage household tasks, Wynette confirmed that she had no need for support in these areas. In particular, during both her fall and spring parent interviews, she reported that David’s grandparents and the Head Start staff had been valuable resources in terms of helping her to raise David over the previous six months. Both in June and November of 1998, a self-report indicated that, the majority of the time, she felt that everything she did was an effort, that her sleep was restless, and that her appetite was poor. Specifically, in the fall of 1997, she also reported that she could do anything that she set her mind to. She strongly disagreed that there was little that she could do to change important things in her life and believed that what happened to her depended on her. She even reported remaining hopeful and that she enjoyed life most or all of the time. However, at the time of the second interview, she had recently divorced Tom and her family moved back in with her parents. Here, unlike her previous report, she described feeling somewhat sad, fearful, and that her life had been a failure. Overall, despite the challenges that her family perpetually faced, Wynette had high personal hopes and ambitions, “To try and get a degree in computers. I love computers, and I want to go to college and do that.”

The Family’s Interactions with Head Start

Wynette had three years of prior experience with Head Start, because her daughter, Bethany, had also attended. Originally, she chose to enroll David, “because he wanted to go to school. He goes to Head Start and pre-K, and he seems to enjoy it.” During her home interview in the spring of 1998, she further reflected, “David usually doesn’t mind, but sometimes he’d rather stay home in bed.” Wynette explained, “There was a kid causing problems in David’s class—fighting-- but it is not so bad now.” She envisioned that Head Start would give David a solid academic foundation as well as teach him about nutrition and physical fitness. Personally, Wynette hoped that Head Start would not only help her to receive assistance with her dental problems but also to obtain vocational or technical training to further her ambitions in computers.

During her parent interview in the spring of 1998, Wynette indicated that she had participated in 11 out of 16 Head Start activities at least once and as many as three times since David’s enrollment. Wynette highly valued Head Start activities and remarked, “It [participation] was very important to me. I like to do bulletin boards. I work with kids-- it helps David. I was President of the Policy Council.” These activities ranged from private parent-teacher conferences and classroom observations to more collaborative efforts including volunteering in the classroom and, at times, other Head Start events such as preparing newsletters and fundraising. Although she had attended certain Head Start events with her spouse, Tom, and other adults, she did not yet have the opportunity to experience a workshop or a Head Start social event.

Overall, Wynette reported very high satisfaction with Head Start, because involvement helped her to fulfill her goals for David as well as to enhance her role as a parent. Wynette reported being somewhat satisfied with how the program had prepared David for kindergarten in July and, later, during the December 1998 telephone interview, after David had been attending kindergarten for several months, Wynette said she was very satisfied that Head Start had helped prepare him for school. Specifically, during her December telephone contact, she described how Head Start staff had helped David to improve his motor skills and dexterity. Socially, “he did just fine with that” and, academically, he was learning a great deal but could still use more help with letters, numbers, and color recognition. Wynette emphasized how “They [Head Start] are meeting my goals for him very well, and I really like the teachers. They’re doing as much as they can with the children. They teach them how to behave, how to eat, and how to play and to learn.” Additionally, during her spring parent interview, Wynette noted that the teacher was always warm and affectionate towards and displayed interest in David.

When asked about the extent to which Head Start had helped her to achieve personal goals, Wynette had mixed feelings. As a parent, she hoped to teach David “to be more polite and mannerly. [And] how to respect women. Teach him to stay away from drugs and alcohol.” In terms of her success at accomplishing this task, she continued, “Real good—if Ralph (father-in-law) or Tom (husband) are having a drink, David says he doesn’t want any, because it’s nasty. I don’t think he’ll ever have a drinking problem.” In particular, during her spring home interview, Wynette commented on how Head Start facilitated her ability to be a caring and a strong role model by clarifying how the program equipped her with important disciplinary techniques and better ways to manage her emotions. “I love being a parent and think I’m a good one, but, sometimes, I want a break. Their Dad takes them on weekends and that helps.” She felt that “an anger management class” would improve the situation a great deal, explaining, “Sometimes I get so angry—too angry—with the kids.” Head Start enabled her “to discipline, talk to ‘em, how to listen.” “They’ve helped me out quite a bit.”

In general, during her spring home interview, Wynette indicated that she felt supported and welcomed by David’s teacher. She recalled how this open atmosphere often encouraged her to participate in Head Start activities. “They helped me with the Christmas party. We had a Santa Claus, and he gave presents to all the kids. Everyone had a great time. At Easter, I helped plan the party. We had an Easter egg hunt and candy and games. It was fun.” Through time volunteering in the classroom, Wynette also helped David “to learn to tie his shoes and to count to thirty.” Since David’s enrollment in September of 1997, she even noted how Head Start helped “giving me a job riding the bus.” Wynette monitored the bus two to three times a day, commenting that she “loved doing it! I know it’s an important job.” Most importantly, Wynette felt that Head Start had not only helped her to improve her physical health but also her professional well-being. She elaborated, “Head Start has helped me to get my teeth fixed. I feel better about myself.” “They offered a computer class, too.”

Unfortunately, at the same time, Wynette reported being sometimes dissatisfied with Head Start’s respect for family culture and very dissatisfied with their openness to ideas in her spring parent interview. She reported, “The way the center director and others were rude to me—they gave me funny looks and talked about me behind my back.” Further serving as barriers to her participation and complicating her situation were chronic family illness and her own ongoing struggle with depression, drinking, and troubled relationships. For example, during January of 1998, although Head Start continued to invite Wynette to many activities, she was not able to attend because of her breakup with Mark and myriad problems with moving, her mother’s illness, and her own alcohol addiction and emotional instability. While she resumed a more regular participation schedule in February, serving as president of a parent group, her contact with Head Start remained limited due to Bethany’s bout with hepatitis.

During this time, increased exposure to parent and teacher interactions led to Wynette’s disillusionment with “conditions at the Head Start center. There are not enough teachers, and the children are running wild.” Wynette attempted to contact both the executive director of the agency and the Head Start director numerous times in order to address her complaints but was unsuccessful. Later, in March, the parents held a meeting to jointly express their concern, yet she remained very dissatisfied with the outcome. Wynette recounted, “the Head Start staff won’t follow the suggestions of the parents.” Persistent disappointment with the situation led to her decreased participation in bus duties and, in general, she chose to spend less time at the Head Start center. “I don’t like the way they treat me. They’re rude. Ever since Claudia [a teacher] left they’re even more rude.” Wynette also described how David “is refusing to go to Head Start, because the kids pick on him so bad.” Wynette suggested that in order to improve, Head Start not only incite cooperative participation and greater parent involvement in both the fall of 1997 and the spring of 1998 but also provide “equal treatment for all” in the spring of 1998. When David matriculated to kindergarten, she emphasized via a telephone contact in July of 1998, “[He’s] in kindergarten now, and Head Start doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.” In September, still somewhat dismayed with the transition, Wynette continued, “David is in all day kindergarten—which he loves, but he and his teachers don’t get along. She doesn’t give him enough to do. He plays teacher with some kids, while she does other things, and she don’t like it.”

The Family’s Home and Neighborhood

At the time of the October 1997 home interview, Wynette and David lived in an upper level, second floor apartment in an extraordinarily run-down, fourplex building. Replete with broken, boarded up windows and peeling paint, the complex had no front door on the street level, and, abut to a deteriorating, industrial park and railroad tracks, fumes from nearby oil and chemical refineries imbued the area. Equally unpleasant, the interior of Wynette’s home reeked from the odor of “dirty dishes with scraps of food…scattered [about] the apartment.” The interviewer elaborated, “The apartment…is filthy… and in need of vacuuming and sweeping.” “Clothes are scattered everywhere --on the floor, chairs, tables-- just everywhere. Wynette and the children are recovering from the flu and, perhaps, that is part of the reason things are so very messy.”

Covering a radius somewhere between six to ten blocks, the neighborhood consisted of four similar buildings on three congested streets. With the exception of a few, well maintained homes, most surrounding houses seemed unkempt and overcrowded. “Materials are hanging, mostly lopsided, in the windows.” Various types of litter, including abandoned vehicles, trash, and broken children’s toys, infiltrated streets, sidewalks, and even private yards. While some trees and grass grew nearby in sparse patches, only a few lingering birds and dogs barking from inside apartments added vitality to this community and obscured the interviewer’s notion that it resembled an “urban blight on a smaller scale.” “This is not a pretty neighborhood, and it does not feel safe.” “It appears that no one who lives here takes pride in the area.”

Wynette affirmed that her family did not live in a stable neighborhood and that “no one would stay here by choice.” There were few signs of neighborhood activities and identity, yet community resources such as two convenient stores, a grocery, a drug store, four churches, a private daycare center, and an elementary school were all within six to ten blocks. Although Wynette observed that her family lived across the street from a vacant field, there was no safe playground nearby for children to play in. Most neighboring businesses were boarded up and closed down.

Ironically, despite its deceptive appearance, Wynette characterized her neighborhood in spring 1998 as “quiet, not much trouble—don’t have the cops come down much.” Except for some individuals who “believe in gangs” and who “don’t know how to get along with anybody,” she emphasized how she lived in a relatively cooperative, law conscious community. “It’s a safe environment in some ways—no guns or violence. It’s better than where I was living before. Everybody helps everybody out.” When asked about which aspect of her neighborhood that she liked the most, she commented, “how quiet it is. How friendly people are. The law goes by often—just checking. People look after other people’s kids and keep parents informed.” Unfortunately, David had both been a witness to and a victim of domestic violence in her home in the fall of 1997. David also had to experience his own mother being arrested. During her fall home interview, Wynette noted a contributing factor; she and her “boyfriend, Mark, are drinking again.” Though circumstances improved by the spring of 1998, the notion that Wynette not only reported having seen but also knew someone who was a victim of violent crime in her neighborhood in the fall of 1997 compounded this harsh reality.

A Head Start Family: Narrative B

This narrative documents the family’s life from October of 1997 through December of 1998. Data contributing to this report were obtained from semi-structured home interviews, structured parent interviews, teacher reports and child assessments, as well as monthly telephone contacts from November of 1997 to December of 1998. The names of the family members have been changed to protect their confidentiality.

The Head Start Child

Gabriela was a 3-year-old Latina girl who lived with her mother, Celia, father, Alejandro, and older brother, Eric, in a large, southwestern city. Gabriela enrolled in Head Start in the fall of 1997 and typically attended class five days a week for eight hours a day. She lived eight minutes from the center and walked to school each morning. Gabriela’s mother, Celia, portrayed her as a child who was “like a good girl, a little difficult, but a calm girl to other children” and stated that she “sometimes acts mean but rarely.” When asked about her favorite activities, Celia said that Gabriela liked “television, playing with her bike and painting and drawing” as well as “playing with the kids.” Celia noted that, in general, Gabriela made friends easily and willingly shared with and accepted her friend’s ideas when playing. However, it was sometimes true that Gabriela hits and fights with other children. Celia reported that “Gabriela had a little friend in the neighborhood that hit her. I notice that she hits back. I don’t like that.” According to Celia, in the fall of 1997, Gabriela could button her own clothes, count up to ten, hold her pencil properly, and liked to write or pretend to write. She could not yet point out any of the letters of the alphabet or identify the colors red, yellow, blue and green.

However, she observed that by the spring of 1998 Gabriela could accomplish all these tasks as well as recognize and write her first name, identify at least five written numbers, and count up to five blocks. Gabriela had a good imagination, enjoyed learning and liked to try new things, although she experienced some difficulty concentrating or paying attention for very long. As early as the fall of 1997, Celia noted that Gabriela would sit and look at a book with pictures, pretending to read to herself, but she did more than just describe each picture -- she connected them in an integrated story. By the spring of 1998, her attention span for reading increased, and she enjoyed being read to for approximately fifteen minutes rather than five minutes at one time. There were reading materials in the home, including children’s books, religious books, and newspapers. While Celia reported that no one had read to Gabriela within the week prior to the fall home interview, she said that a number of household members had read to her two times during the week before the spring home interview.

When asked about her behavior, Celia remarked that Gabriela sometimes was disobedient at home and very often would have temper tantrums. Both in the fall of 1997 and spring of 1998, Celia indicated having to spank Gabriela and send her to time-out one to two times a week. However, Celia recognized an improvement in her daughter’s ability to get along well with and to act her own age around other children in the spring of 1998. Her teacher also noted her more congenial and cooperative nature, reporting that Gabriela joined in group activities on her own and encouraged others to participate as well as accepted her peers’ ideas in playing and sharing and complimented them. She felt that Gabriela appeared to receive social support from a friend and showed loyalty to the friend. While Gabriela took turns and followed classroom directions very often, she occasionally would break rules when playing games with others and could usually solve problems with other children independently. Overall, Celia described Gabriela as a happy child with a good self-esteem who never seemed to worry for too long.

Gabriela did not have a regular health care provider. She received her routine health care, paid by health insurance, from a private doctor or an HMO. Celia described Gabriela’s health as excellent. Ironically, she indicated that Gabriela suffered from a chronic illness (unspecified) in the fall of 1997, yet continued telephone conversations only document that she had a bout of the flu in August and experienced a common cold in October of 1998.

When asked about her hopes and goals for Gabriela during the fall of 1997, Celia relayed that she hoped “that they [Head Start] say something good about her, that they have no problems with her.” “I don’t want her [Gabriela] to tell me that she spent all day watching movies or was out on the street.” When specifically asked about short or long-term educational goals, Celia said, “Head Start teaches [them] to do good things. I see the difference in her drawings and how she interacts with children.” Regarding her future, Celia would like Gabriela to become an “engineer” and hopes that she “gets a good job.” Of greatest value, she felt, “The most important thing is her learning and increasing her abilities. And, to instill the desire to be somebody… who does not have to struggle like we do.”

The Head Start Family

This is a two-parent family that immigrated from El Salvador to the United States in search of a better life. Prior to the initial visit with the family, Gabriela’s father, Alejandro, was deported, leaving Celia, Gabriela, and her 9-year-old brother, Eric, with very few resources. The family began sharing housing after Alejandro was deported, because they could no longer afford to live on their own. When first contact with the family occurred, the household consisted of Gabriela, her 36-year-old mother, Celia, Eric, and another 30-year-old female relative. Spanish was the language spoken in the home.

Celia did not have a high school diploma or a GED but received a job-related certificate and worked full-time as a machine operator. While Celia reported her monthly household income to be $850 in the fall of 1997, it rose to approximately $1,000 in the spring of 1998. This increase in income combined with the fact that her husband, Alejandro, returned to live with the family and worked full-time may have contributed to the family’s living in their own housing. Since Gabriela’s birth, Celia has needed help with transportation, childcare, and food and has received help from a variety of community agencies. When asked whether Head Start had helped her to secure this assistance, Celia explained that she was already receiving the aid before Gabriela began Head Start and, therefore, did not need help from the program. During her husband’s absence, Celia received WIC to purchase milk for her children. However, Celia emphasized that she felt it was unacceptable to “ask for handouts,” and, by the time of the first interview, she was no longer receiving any public assistance. After having been deported from the United States, Alejandro returned in January of 1998 with a vehement distrust of the government and the “North American system.” He explained that the only reason the family was still in the U.S. was because circumstances were much worse in their homeland of El Salvador.

Celia worked full-time and, consequently, Gabriela often spent a good portion of her day either in Head Start or under the supervision of a neighbor who was a helpful but unlicensed caregiver. However, Celia still reported spending time with her child on a consistent basis in both the fall and spring parent interviews. During the week prior to the spring home interview, Celia told or read Gabriela a story and jointly worked on arts and crafts. She also took Gabriela with her while running errands, had her help with household chores, and made time to speak with her about her Head Start day. Another household member also taught Gabriela letters, words, or numbers and played games with her indoors. With her father’s return to the United States, Celia reported that he would sometimes bring Gabriela to the mall once a month. In the fall of 1997, Celia remarked she and Gabriela also ventured to a mall, visited a playground, and attended a sporting event at least once a month. Similarly, with the exception of a sports outing, they experienced these same events the month prior to the spring 1998 interview.

In telephone interviews in July and, later, December of 1998, Celia revealed that, at best, her family was able to meet four out of nineteen fundamental needs. From a broad view, having enough money to purchase basic necessities enabled her to sometimes pay her monthly bills and provide her family with three meals a day. Other resources sometimes met included having enough space in her apartment. She described that that she would like “to change and improve our way of living, to earn more [and get] better quality things for one’s family.” Specifically, Celia discussed the difficulty of earning a low wage and expressed her hopes for the future. “If you go out with the little money that you earn, you have desires to buy what they [the children] wish.” “We are in this country ... it is not much that they are paying us.” “[I want] to change our way of living.” Yet, despite her hardships, Celia stated, “We are a poor but honorable family” when asked about what family quality she truly admired.

Celia described her physical health as fair and had a regular health care provider. Sadly, monthly telephone interviews indicated that her husband, Alejandro, suffered a dangerous head injury in July of 1998. Alejandro was struck on the head by a marijuana addict in their apartment complex, and this traumatic situation precipitated a great deal of physical and psychological distress. He not only spent two days in a hospital but also was forced to take work leave for two weeks. Deleterious effects, especially emotional ones, lingered for two months. In September, the interviewer detailed, “Celia was very worried that they wouldn’t have enough that month to pay the rent or bills. Thankfully, everything worked out—Her husband was okay, and they still had a place to live.”

When asked about her need for social support, Celia expressed a moderate need for intimate social support – someone to confide in about personal and private matters. She mentioned that she was able to talk to her sister and that she was very satisfied with these experiences during the month of January 1998. When interviewed after Alejandro had been deported, Celia admitted that she was lonely and sad most or all of the time, occasionally felt depressed, and that everything she did seemed like an effort. She felt helpless – that there was no way to solve her problems, she was being pushed around, and she had little control over life events. Although she agreed that what happened to her depended on her, she felt that there was very little she could do in order to improve those circumstances that were most important to her. By contrast, after Alejandro’ return in January of 1998, a self-report in June later revealed that, while she often felt that life required a big effort to accomplish tasks and that it was difficult to proceed with daily routines, Celia rarely felt sad, afraid, or alone. She further demonstrated her receptivity to others’ social support when answering that she rarely felt that she could not shake her sadness and that she only seldom felt poorly treated by others. In retrospect, she emphasized how Alejandro, her parents, Gabriela’s child care provider, the church, and Head Start staff, were all very supportive and helpful resources in terms of raising Gabriela over the previous six months. Celia’s personal hopes and goals are sound and realistic: “To just work and be able to take care of them [children]. “There is no initiative to say we will continue to study. I cannot. There is only one thing and that is work and work for them.”

The Family’s Interactions with Head Start

Celia had prior experience with Head Start because her son, Eric, had also attended. Celia’s primary reason for enrolling Gabriela in Head Start stemmed from her great need for child care. She explained, “Sometimes the necessities of work make it very difficult to leave one’s children for eight-to-nine hours at a babysitter.” She expressed concern about her child’s welfare. “I have seen babysitters even treat the children badly.” Gabriela initially entered childcare when she was a one-year-old and has been cared for in six different arrangements before her enrollment in Head Start. Of these various arrangements, care was most frequently provided in a neighbor’s home. After beginning Head Start, Gabriela continued to receive child care at a neighbor’s home, both before and after the Head Start day, for approximately 25 hours per week. Although Celia had expressed a need for financial assistance to afford Gabriela’s child care, she paid for it on her own . When asked how Gabriela perceived these care experiences, Celia expressed mixed feelings. While she positively noted that the child care provider always seemed open to new information and often gave Gabriela a great deal of individual attention and warmth, she also felt there were times when Gabriela did not appear to feel safe or secure.

Overall, Celia envisioned that Head Start would give Gabriela a solid academic foundation as well as improve her social interactions with children and adults. She also hoped that Head Start would improve Gabriela’s manners, reinforcing good habits, while helping her to learn how to behave better. During a home interview in April of 1998, when asked about Gabriela’s impression of Head Start, Celia replied positively, “[She] loves it! She has less tantrums with her friends than before. She’s also reminding me she has to wash her hands, teeth. She knows the colors, numbers. Gabriela tries more and more to explain what has happened during the day.” In particular, she noted Gabriela’s improved language skills, “Gabriela has learned a lot of English and speaks less Spanish.” Accordingly, Celia hoped that Head Start not only would be able to help her with child care but also to enhance her understanding of child development. During her spring parent interview, Celia relayed that she had participated in 9 out of 15 Head Start activities at least once and as many as three times since Gabriela’s enrollment. These activities ranged from private parent-teacher conferences and workshops to more collaborative efforts including volunteering in the classroom and, at times, in other Head Start events such as fundraising and preparing newsletters. By contrast, she did not yet have the opportunity to call another Head Start parent or attend a Head Start event, such as a field trip or a social occasion, either with her husband, Alejandro, or another adult, primarily due to work commitments.

Overall, Celia reported high satisfaction with Head Start, because involvement both helped her to fulfill her goals for Gabriela and to improve her role as a parent. She commented that she wished to teach her child “good things, to be an educated woman that is honorable and studious” and that Head Start had facilitated her capacity “to teach [Gabriela] so she learns. I have noticed much change—in her attitude and her abilities.” Feeling that Head Start had more than adequately prepared Gabriela physically, scholastically, and socially for kindergarten, Celia reported being extremely satisfied during her telephone conversations in July and, later, in September of 1998. At the same time, she again expressed a continued feeling of “being ashamed to ask for help [because she was not] used to having programs available for families and so she didn’t feel comfortable asking.” Overwhelmingly, Celia perceived that Head Start services for Gabriela and her family helped them to grow, were safe, and fostered community involvement. Additionally, she always felt that the teachers were open to new information and expressed enthusiasm and warmth towards Gabriela. When asked about the extent to which she felt she could achieve her goals as a parent, she responded with great candor, “I don’t know what you mean, I am doing the best I can with what resources we have. Our surroundings make it hard to show her how to be good. But we try.” Celia elaborated, “I love my children and want to see them grow…We are poor, but we try to keep her on the right path.” Despite Gabriela’s and her family’s positive experiences with Head Start, Celia did not meet her own goals. “I wanted good health and my job. I still have both things. Head Start didn’t help. I’m pretty sad still. I am not in my country. But our outlook there isn’t any better.”

When asked if there was anything that she would like to see improved or changed in Head Start, Celia expressed that the program should either have longer hours or provide extended day care. Unfortunately, she had to leave work early in order to take Gabriela to another child care arrangement, since extended day care at Head Start was recently discontinued. Despite her displeasure with the limited hours, Celia mentioned being particularly pleased that Head Start was often sensitive to her transportation needs. “On cold days they give my daughter a ride to Head Start.” Transportation to Head Start was a persistent problem for this family, and Celia explained the difficulty of getting Gabriela to school. “For me, it’s hard to find a person that will help me. In the time of cold and snow, I don’t want for them to miss not one day. It’s also hard for me to miss a lot of work. [Having transportation] could help a lot of mothers out.” Unfortunately, difficulties with transportation and a lack of child care became such barriers to participation that Celia eventually enrolled Gabriela in a pre-kindergarten program for fours hours a day, five days a week at her brother Eric’s school. Although Celia, at first, seemed unhappy about enrolling Gabriela in an elementary school program, she seemed more comfortable with the change by August of 1998.

The Family’s Home and Neighborhood

At the time of the October home interview, the FACES home visit interviewer described the family’s neighborhood as a residential, suburban setting comprised of mostly low-income, blue-collar African-American and Latino families. While the neighborhood consisted of two apartment complexes surrounded by single-family homes, Celia and Alejandro lived in an apartment building that was rather old and moderately populated. The complexes had gravel parking lots with little plants or shrubbery, and the yards were equally bare. All of the buildings and surrounding grounds were in great need of repair. An abandoned swimming pool and the absence of an outdoor playground not only made the desolate atmosphere uninviting but also unsafe for children to play in as dark passage ways, broken cement stairs, and rusted railings riddled the complex. The interviewer captured, at times, the intensity of Celia’s struggle via telephone interviews in July of 1998, “Unfortunately, the…complex is not well maintained and the management is lax.” “The situation was no better with the heat wave.” The property management refused to fix their air conditioner or refrigerator for a long time. Celia said she felt terrible not being [able] to provide her children any form of relief from the heat. Despite these times of crisis, Celia and her family were often afraid to complain to their landlord or local housing authority because of their immigration status and poor English skills. She elaborated, “The corrupt owners don’t listen to us. They think, because many of us are not legal, it’s okay to treat us like rats.”

Celia observed that the neighborhood was constantly in transition, since residents were always moving in and out. A parking lot between the apartment complexes and surrounding houses acted a small “buffer zone,” heightening a sense of isolation as the buildings almost appeared to be two distinct neighborhoods. There were no signs of neighborhood activities or identity, and all community resources such as churches, schools, recreation centers, and public transportation were at least a half a mile away. From their apartments, people socialized on their balconies yet were always vigilant of their children playing near isolated houses below. No one really knew each other, and, fearing for their safety, Celia did not allow her kids to play with other children. Living near a drug and gang-infested housing project, loitering was often observed. Celia commented, “I’m suspicious of people, because I don’t know anyone but so far nothing has happened….This is not a place where a child can run and play—It’s dirty, it’s dangerous, and I think it’s a bad place.” Unlike the fall parent interview, Celia reported that, in the spring of 1998, while she and her family had never been a victim of violent crime, her family had been exposed to violent crime and Gabriela to domestic violence. In April of 1998, Celia revealed, “The other day, they [officers] found a murder victim --five days old—in an apartment near where the children play. There’s gang violence on one side of the complex and alcoholic/drug abuse adults on the other. It’s terrible, this is like a rat hole.”

A Head Start Family: Narrative C

This narrative documents the family’s life from October of 1997 to December of 1998. Data contributing to this report were obtained from semi-structured home interviews, structured parent interviews, teacher reports, child observations, as well as monthly telephone contacts from December of 1997 to December of 1998. The names of the family members have been changed to protect their confidentiality.

The Head Start Child

Felicia was a three-year-old African American girl who lived with her 34-year-old, single mother, Kathy, sisters, LaShawn, Cheyenne, and Sharice, and her brother, RaShad , in a large, west-coast city. Felicia enrolled in Head Start in the fall of 1996 and attended class five days a week for four hours a day. She lived five minutes away from the Head Start center and traveled each day by bus. Felicia’s mother, Kathy, described her as a “nice, friendly kid” who was “stubborn, at times.” When asked about her favorite activities, Kathy commented that Felicia liked “to act silly.” She noted that Felicia was an imaginative child who liked to try new things and enjoyed learning. She made friends easily and willingly accepted her friends’ ideas when playing.

According to Kathy, in the fall of 1997, Felicia could button her own clothes, identify the colors red, yellow, blue and green, count up to ten, and recognize some of the letters in the alphabet, including her own name in print. She held her pencil properly and liked to write or pretend to write, especially her first name. By the spring of 1998, although she still experienced difficulty writing her first name, Felicia could identify at least four written numbers and count up to sixteen blocks. Her attention span for reading remained steady from the fall of 1997 to the spring of 1998; she did not have a hard time concentrating and enjoyed being read to for approximately 10 minutes at one time. She would sit and look at a book with pictures and, while pretending to read to herself, she would do much more than just describe each picture-- she connected them into an integrated story. There were many reading materials in the home, including children’s books and novels, magazines for children and catalogs for adults, newspapers, and other reference items such as religious books, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. While Kathy and another household member had read to Felicia everyday during the week prior to the fall parent interview in 1997, both individuals also read to her three or more times a week before her spring interview in 1998.

When asked about her child’s behavior, Kathy’s description improved from the fall of 1997 to the spring of 1998. Initially, she reported that Felicia sometimes was disobedient at home and very often would have temper tantrums . However, during her second parent interview, she noted that her daughter rarely misbehaved at home and only sometimes would experience temper tantrums. Interestingly, in the spring of 1998, although Kathy commented that Felicia sometimes would not get along with other children and would even hit or fight with them, she would very often comfort or help her peers. Similarly, teacher ratings in the spring of 1998 confirmed that she followed classroom directions and rules very often as well as rarely disrupted ongoing activities. Socially, Felicia seemed not only to join in and encourage others to participate in group games but also would very often take turns and, sometimes, even compliment her friends. However, her teacher additionally felt that Felicia often acted withdrawn and lacked confidence in experimenting with new activities. Both in the fall of 1997 and the spring of 1998, Kathy reported that Felicia very often needed reassurance that she was behaving well. Yet, both Kathy and her Head Start teacher portrayed Felicia as a happy child with good self-esteem; during both time periods, she typically acted her own age, rarely seemed to worry for too long, and seldom felt inferior.

In both parent interviews, Kathy reported that the family had household rules about the kind of food her daughter ate, when she went to bed, and which chores she was responsible for completing. Although Kathy did not restrict the amount of television that Felicia watched, she monitored the type of television programs seen. Kathy relayed that she had to spank Felicia once as well as send her to time-out twice during the week prior to the fall and spring parent interviews. In the spring of 1998, she noted that she had not learned any new disciplinary techniques from Head Start.

Prior to her enrollment in Head Start, Felicia never experienced child care, either center-based or with an unlicensed caregiver, and, during the program, she was not in child care before or after the Head Start day. She demonstrated excellent health and a had a regular health care provider both in the fall of 1997 and the spring of 1998. All of her routine care was paid for by Medicaid at an outpatient clinic in a local hospital. Fortunately, a telephone contact revealed that Felicia only suffered from a common cold and a bout of the flu in December of 1997.

While Kathy did not address any specific hopes and goals for Felicia during her first year at Head Start nor project any s