Preschool Services earns two national awards for service programs

Preschool Services Department (PSD) earned an ‘A+’ from the National Association of Counties (NACo) receiving two distinguished achievement awards for the Diaper Distribution and Home Visiting Programs.

Preschool Services administers Head Start Preschool Programs while providing child development and family supportive services to the children and families of San Bernardino County. PSD is grateful for the support of the Board of Supervisors who have advocated for early childhood development and education for low-income individuals and families.

“Similar to the saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ community partnerships are pivotal to the success of PSD’s efforts to remove barriers that may hinder families moving towards self-sufficiency and children towards school readiness,” said Director Jacquelyn Greene. “The receipt of these two NACo awards could not have been possible without the diligent commitment of the San Bernardino County Transitional Assistance Department (TAD) and the Community Action Partnership San Bernardino (CAPSB). Together, we are making a difference.”

In October of 2022, PSD collaborated with Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino (CAPSBC) on the implementation of a Diaper Distribution Program to address the impact of high inflation costs on low-income families in San Bernardino County.

The CAPSBC donates diapers monthly to PSD, which then delivers the diapers to over 4,000 families that participate in PSD’s early childhood education programs to include Early Head Start, Head Start and the Home Visiting Program. In the six months the program has been operating, 308,525 diapers have been distributed, resulting in a net savings to families of approximately $600 annually.

The program passes down a cost savings benefit to the family’s that PSD serves, but also promotes the health and well-being of infants and toddlers by ensuring that one of the basic needs of children and families are adequately met. The collaboration and partnership between PSD and the CAPSB demonstrate the important role that community partnerships play in county government to strengthen communities by identifying and meeting the needs of families with combined resources.

The second achievement award was received for the Home Visiting Program (HVP), a collaboration between San Bernardino County’s Transitional Assistance Department (TAD) and PSD. The Home Visiting Program provides home visiting services to California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) eligible families (e.g., TANF eligible). HVP supports pregnant women, and families with children under 24 months of age by removing barriers that limit the family’s ability to transition out of poverty and embark on the path to self-sufficiency.

HVP provides home visits and comprehensive services to support and strengthen the relationship between infants, toddlers and their parents and recognizes the importance of collecting and storing information in a manner that is reliable, purposeful, and efficient. In September 2021, HVP embarked on a goal of becoming a 100 percent paperless program. Not only has the new paperless system made HVP more efficient, but it has also created more time for staff to dedicate meaningful hours of service to families.

Staff are now able to focus their efforts on understanding needs, providing resources, implementing the parenting education curriculum, and conducting necessary assessments and screenings. It is HVP’s goal to continue to provide excellent customer service in the best possible manner by using technology to its advantage and towards the benefit of the community we serve.

Additional County Update News – August 4, 2023