Next Door’s Early Head Start promotes strong child/parent relationships and encourages active parent involvement in all aspects of the program including governance.  The program is linked to a wide range of community resources and organizations.  Collaborative relationships focus on the development of community capacity, expertise, and commitment to the target population.

The program uses a blended program approach to serve infants, toddlers and pregnant women.  By offering a variety of alternatives, Next Door's Early Head Start better meets the diverse needs of families living in the neighborhood.  In addition to center-based Early Head Start which is provided in the Educare Center of Milwaukee, Next Door offers a home-based program option and prenatal services for pregnant women.

Home-based Early Head Start

In the home-based option, Parent Educators work with parents to:  understand the child development process, check the safety of the home environment, and stay on track with the recommended schedule for well-child checkups, including dental care. 

Parent Educators help parents develop a Family Partnership Agreement (FPA).  Goals can vary between emergency and crisis assistance, accessing community resources, participating in continuing education, etc. 

To encourage parent involvement, the home visiting team brings families together by offering socializations 1-2 times per month, either at the Educare Center of Milwaukee or in the community.  The program also hosts annual events including a Breakfast with Santa, Mother’s Day Brunch, Baby Shower, and field trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo. See photos from out latest trip to Betty Brinn.

Next Door began its first home-based early childhood program in 1973.  This primary prevention program was a precursor to home-based Early Head Start with essentially the same type of programming, but with more limited resources. 

Prenatal Services

Next Door Early Head Start’s prenatal option provides services through four phases of the birth process: the final trimester of pregnancy, labor and delivery, post partum adjustment and transition to other supportive services.  The prenatal parent educator carries a case load of 10 pregnant moms and families with infants up to 3 months old at any given time. 

Next Door Early Head Start’s prenatal services meets the needs of mothers by:

• Improving access of pregnant mothers to primary and preventive health services
• Focusing on the prenatal health of women and their babies in order to have healthier pregnancies, deliveries, and postpartum birth experiences
• Preventing and reducing intentional and unintentional injuries to newborns through the neglect or lack of knowledge of women during pregnancy

The Prenatal Parent Educator uses a variety of methods and curricula to determine the parent’s knowledge of infants both prior to delivery and post delivery.  This information helps determine the areas of education that the Prenatal Parent Educator needs to focus on when working with the parent.