Parent FAQs

Shasta Head Start serves Shasta, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties. Our Administrative Offices are located at 375 Lake Blvd. Suite 100 Redding, CA 96003. We have over 18 center locations- use our map tool to find a center near you!

Shasta Head Start offers several program choices with varied schedules to meet your family’s needs:

• The Early Head Start Infant-Toddler option serves pregnant mothers, infants, and toddlers from birth to three* in our early learning centers. This option operates part day or full day, five days a week and is a full year program.
• Early Head Start also offers infant-toddler home visiting options for families that prefer services in their home with weekly home visits and play groups.
• The Head Start Preschool option serves children ages three* to five years of age in our early learning centers and operates part day or full day five days a week, for part year or full year.
• The Early Head Start Child Care Partnership option serves infants and toddlers in a family childcare home with trained professional providers.

*If a child turns three years old on or before December 1st, the child will be placed in a Head Start Preschool option at the beginning of the school year. 

Children from birth to age five who are from families with incomes below the HHS Poverty Guidelines are eligible for Head Start and Early Head Start services. Children and families experiencing homelessness and families receiving public assistance such as TANF or SSI are also eligible. Foster children are eligible regardless of their foster family’s income.

The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The poverty guidelines are adjusted for families of different sizes and are used to determine financial eligibility for Head Start and Early Head Start services. Select this link for the HHS Poverty Guidelines.

We have a whole department dedicated to determining eligibility and enrolling families! Submit an appointment request or call us at 530-241-1036.

No, Shasta Head Start does not require a child to be potty trained to attend.

No, Shasta Head Start provides diapers, formula, and meals for children while they are in our care.

Yes! The following centers have busing available: Cottonwood, Happy Valley, and Sycamore. We also provide bus passes for families in Redding. Contact your Family Worker to find out more about bus passes. 

An interested family should follow these steps: 

1. Request an appointment
2. Receive a call from our enrollment team to set up the face-to-face appointment.
3. At the face-to-face appointment, the enrollment team will determine if a family is eligible.
4. If the family is eligible, they are placed on our waitlist. The waitlist is based on eligibility, meaning families who have the most need for our program move to the top of our list. We do not serve families on a first come/first serve basis.

If an opening for services happens, Shasta Head Start will contact a family from the waitlist to offer them a placement.

Unfortunately, we cannot tell a family where they fall on the waitlist. The waitlist is changing constantly as we fill our centers and gain new eligible families. The best thing waitlisted families can do is make sure Shasta Head Start has their most updated phone number(s) and other contact information.

We encourage parents to work together with their child’s teachers to create individual goals based on your child’s abilities and interests. Additionally, we have many Parent Involvement Activities through our Family Services Department Check out our Family Services page here.

Teachers and Family Workers will work with you and our program specialists to develop a plan for accommodations. 

The goal of Shasta Head Start’s community complaint process is to resolve complaints by community members and program participants such as parents or guardians. Step-by-step directions and the Complaint and Resolution Form can be found here.

Shasta Head Start provides nutritious meals and snacks for children in our program. Each center has a kitchen and all meals are made on-site by our amazing cooks! Our Food Services Coordinator and our Registered Dietitian collaborate to create a healthy, kid-friendly menu that meets the nutrition requirements set by Child and Adult Care Food Program. For a full menu, click here: English | Spanish

Shasta Head Start follows strict safety regulations from both the federal and state government. We follow specific procedures and guidelines for cleaning the classroom, classroom equipment, and child supervision. Regular safety assessments called “safety monitors” are conducted by our Health Manager. The Head Start Performance Standards for safety practices can be found here: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/policy/45-cfr-chap-xiii/1302-47-safety-practices.

Parents can access learning resources from the app called Learning Genie (Link here). We also have a number of fun, educational websites on our Education and Child Development page here.

Please call your child’s center if your child is sick and needs to stay home. You can find your center number by calling our Administrative Offices at 530-241-1036.

The Administrative Offices are open Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm excluding holidays. 

Center locations each have their own hours of operation depending on their program options. Click here to see our program options. Click here to see our center calendars. Call your Family Worker to confirm hours of operation. We are not open on the weekends. 

If there is an unexpected center closure, Shasta Head Start will notify parents via Facebook and text.

Check out our job board for open positions!