Native American Early Head Start and Child Care Program Evaluation

• Main Author: Stamboltsyan, Juliette
• Other Authors: Debonis, Judith, Bartle, Eli, Ashley, Wendy
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: California State University, Northridge 2021
• Subjects: First Nations child care; Yurok Tribal Head Start; Place-based education; Indigenous knowledge; Tribal Early Education; Dissertations; Academic > CSUN > Social Work; Holistic logic model; First Nations
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/219502

The purpose of this study was to make recommendations to the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians on important components to consider in their design and implementation of an Early Head Start-Child Care (EHS-CC) program. Research indicated a culturally specific Head Start program that preserves Native languages, values, and practices is important for the preservation and identity formation of the Native American. Using a logic model framework supplemented by a Medicine Wheel, this program evaluation conducted a complex assessment of the Yurok Tribe Early Head Start & Child Care program with both the Home Visitation Based option and the Family Child Care Based option. Findings revealed that the Yurok Tribe Head Start program successfully created and implemented a Head Start program utilizing its many resources available including federal recognition, community partnerships, and geographical location. The implications of this Head Start program spanned from micro practice all the way to macro practice with the eventual passage of California legislation (AB 544) incorporating the Yurok language into more elementary schools and high schools both inside and outside the reservation.