Program Descriptions

Arizona Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program
2002 La Promesa Award

Contact:
Vivian Diaz
Director
Arizona Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program
Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc.
1046 E. Buckeye Road
Phoenix, AZ 85034
(602) 254-4827

The Arizona Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program serves Latino farmworking families in Arizona. Its mission is to support and nurture children, families, and staff to develop their potential for creating an independent and self-sustaining existence. This comprehensive school readiness program utilizes the family and culture of the child to impact the developmental process of learning. The program has been in existence for twenty-four years, and for the last six it has been administered by Chicanos Por La Causa, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Latino social justice through policies and programs.

The Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program provides educational services to families in four counties and seven cities in Arizona. In 2001–2002 it served 684 migrant and seasonal children and families. The program’s seven centers are open five days a week year-round. Infants through preschoolers are provided transportation to the centers, where they receive education, health, nutrition, mental health, and other social services. Parents and teachers work together to develop their child’s individual goals, and the integration of language, culture, and family experiences is an essential part of the program’s design.

Staff use of the child’s home language and culture permeates the program activities. Since brain research has demonstrated that children through age 9 are able to assimilate another language while refining their home language, staff use both English and Spanish, with one staff member in each class being fluent in Spanish and one in English. Books in both languages are amply provided in the classroom, and English is used consistently during targeted repetitive routines.

Major areas of focus for the program are family services, which include education, training, social services referrals, and transportation; community services, which include community education, partnership development, and community resources; and family literacy services, which include early childhood education for parents, adult education, and a family-focused literacy program. Parent surveys indicate a newfound interest in reading and learning to speak English. By the end of the school year 80 percent of the children who are kindergarten-bound have a capacity to speak in both English and Spanish.

LULAC Annual Youth Leadership Conference
2000 La Promesa Award

Contact:
Richard Fimbres
League of United Latin American Citizens, Arizona Chapter
P.O. Box 2443
Tucson, AZ 85702
(520) 547-8398
lulac@azstarnet.com

The LULAC Annual Youth Leadership Conference, sponsored by the Arizona chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, is designed to motivate sixth through twelfth graders in Arizona to stay in school and develop their skills by providing them with the opportunity to observe, analyze, and become directly involved with social, economic, and social issues and to meet the leaders who deal with these issues. The conference strives to encourage and motivate students to stay in school, to set their goals to attend a high educational institution, and to interact with leaders and participate in hands-on leadership activities.

The Youth Leadership Conference was created in 1989 to help youth stay in school and pursue a higher education—thereby combating the high dropout rate of Latino high school students around the country. Its Educator’s Banquet raises funds for scholarships and tutoring services, and it also honors outstanding educators and students. The conference takes place on a college campus, which allows participants to familiarize themselves with the campus environment and to envision themselves attending college. Community and educational leaders are selected to direct and facilitate the program, which ensures the community’s participation and support. Up to 6,000 youth are selected by their schools to attend, and LULAC members, parents, teachers, and others are recruited to assist with the conference organization.

At the conference, students interact with leaders in business, government, and the community in a series of workshops to exchange thoughts and ideas about health issues and the importance of staying in school, staying out of gangs, and avoiding substance abuse. The program’s innovation comes from the way it involves the entire community—including youth, school district representatives, teachers, dropout prevention specialists, law enforcement officials, and corporate and higher education institutions—in the planning process. Culture and language are incorporated into every facet of the conference, from the keynote speaker to workshop presenters, facilitators, career fair attendants, and volunteers. Keynote speakers are always Latino and often speak about their culture in terms of its impact on their field of work.

Platicamos Salud
1996 La Promesa Winner Contact
Jo Jean Elenes
Mariposa Community Health Center
3241 N. Grand Ave. #2
Nogales, AZ 85621
(520) 281-2860
Fax (520) 761-2153

The mission of Platicamos Salud (Let’s Talk Health) is to provide health education and referrals to needed services and patient advocacy in a holistic, family-centered fashion. In doing so, Platicamos Salud strives to build the foundation for a healthier community.

The program began in September 1991 as a demonstration project of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It evolved in response to the problems of access to health care for uninsured and underserved women ages 15 to 65 in Santa Cruz County. By a process of responding to community needs, outreach, and case findings; coordinating services; and providing transportation linkages, the project strove to enhance the availability of essential health services.

Platicamos Salud uses promotoras de salud, or health promoters, to get the word out to the community about issues ranging from cancer awareness and education, to HIV/AIDS, the importance of prenatal care, tobacco use prevention, healthy lifestyles, and health issues particular to teens. The program uses culturally competent, bilingual promotoras—women from the community who reflect the community’s culture and language—to bridge the gap between Latinos and the U.S. medical community. They translate language, medical concepts, and terminology for patients and reach their clients in nontraditional locations (i.e., homes, factories, laundromats, outside churches and shopping malls) and through pláticas, or health chats, and other nontraditional methods. Often Latino patients feel more comfortable describing medical problems to the promotora than to the “authority figure” a doctor represents, thus ensuring that patients gain the maximum benefit the health care system has to offer.

Strategies include the Community Integrated Service System—in which prenatal care, prenatal ultrasounds, and Medicaid eligibility are conjointly located—as well as the expansion of maternal and infant home visiting. Because the population endures such poor health insurance coverage, a high rate of unemployment, and a high rate of poverty ($9,116 per capita), the overwhelming numbers of underserved residents are the primary focus of outreach and service delivery efforts. Methodologies are centered on home visiting, and outreach efforts include group presentations and national media campaigns. Recent campaigns have centered on the need for early entry into prenatal care, basic prenatal education, and discussions of community resources that could contribute to a healthy birth outcome.