Hillsborough County Head Start/Early Head Start has six advisory boards which assist the program in providing comprehensive and expert services to the children and families it serves.  Each advisory board meets on a quarterly basis and is comprised of staff, parents of enrolled Head Start children and community members. 

The Building Blocks to Healthy Relationships Advisory Board’s goals are to support the grant that funds the Healthy Marriages Project.  This group helps educate the community about the project, shares ideas as it relates to training parents about healthy relationships, develops new referral sources, seeks new community collaborations and assists in identifying sites to conduct workshops.

Participants on the Volunteer and Community Partnerships Advisory Board assist Head Start staff in identifying individuals, agencies and businesses that can assist in supporting the program’s children and families.  This group plays a part in activities like securing holiday gifts for each child enrolled in the program, finding volunteer groups to complete center beautification projects and supports special events.

The Health Services Advisory Committee plays an important role in weaving community connections and ensuring that the program provides comprehensive, integrated, effective health services to children and their families.  The group is primarily composed of local health providers, dentists, nutritionists, who represent private departments and other social service agencies.

The Education Advisory Committee works to strengthen the early childhood practices used in the program.  The team reviews the curriculum used in the program, solicits information on current innovative approaches, and determines training and additional partnership needs. The group also ensures all elements of the Head Start performance standards (i.e., nutrition, mental and physical health, and social services) are integrated into classroom activities.

The Special Needs Advisory Committee meets to support inclusion for children with developmental and behavioral challenges within the Head Start & Early Head Start Program and the community. Participants in the committee assist in developing policies, partnerships, and innovative strategies to make inclusive preschool available and successful for young children with special needs and their families.