The work of the Florida Head Start State Collaboration Office depends upon both national and state priorities. The Florida Head Start Collaboration Office engages in a number of projects and activities designed to enhance early learning systems and services for children, families, and communities.
The Florida Head Start State Collaboration Office (FHSSCO) is a federally funded office with the specific purpose of supporting and improving collaboration between Head Start and other providers of educational, medical, and social services in Florida. The office coordinates federal, state, and local policy to help ensure a unified early care and education system. Sponsored by the Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida, hosted by the Agency for Workforce Innovation Office of Early Learning and in partnership with the Florida Head Start Association, FHSSCO works to coordinate activities with the governor’s office, key state agencies, and other early childhood associations and advocacy groups.
The three primary goals of these partnerships are:
The Head Start State Collaboration Offices play an important role in building partnerships at the state and local levels to ensure Head Start's participation in systems-integration strategies to benefit low-income children and families. Head Start and Early Head Start staff, other early care and education professionals, Head Start Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) providers, policymakers, and state and local organizations will benefit from the resources and contacts developed by and for the State Collaboration Offices.
The Head Start Act of 2007 identifies the following ten priority areas for Head Start-State Collaboration Offices: