Building Strong Foundations: A Needs Assessment of Developmental Monitoring Practices in Southeast Louisiana's (LA) Early Head Start Programs
Location
Lions Eye Center
Document Type
Poster
Start Date
28-4-2025 12:00 PM
End Date
28-4-2025 1:30 PM
Description
Introduction: Our project was formed and completed as a needs assessment to better understand the needs of local Early Head Start programs in southeast Louisiana. Purpose: This project was formed with three main purposes: 1) assessing current developmental monitoring practices in local Early Head Start Programs; 2) identifying gaps, challenges, strengths and preferences of Early Head Start educators; and 3) developing an actionable improvement plan to enhance developmental monitoring activities. Methods: Completion of this project occurred in three phrases. Phase 0 was completed through semi-structured interviews with Early Head Start directors and coordinators to guide tool identification and development. Phase 1 consisted of the distribution and completion of two surveys including, “The Early Childhood Teacher Experiences Scale (ECTS), and “Early Head Start Survey” (EHS) followed by completion of a focus group with Early Head Start teachers. Phase 2 consisted of distribution and completion of a Parent Survey. Results: Data integration from Phase 1 detailed the following areas of need and challenges: workload and limited support; a need for developmental monitoring and training groups; challenges in parent and community engagement; and teacher well-being and recognition needs. Discussion: Implementing data from this research into Early Head Start programs will be extremely important in improving the early detection of children with developmental delays. Continuing to analyze the data and making sure that the data reflects the lived experiences of those who were surveyed will ensure that our plan of action will be effective.
Recommended Citation
Hoffer, Hannah, "Building Strong Foundations: A Needs Assessment of Developmental Monitoring Practices in Southeast Louisiana's (LA) Early Head Start Programs" (2025). School of Allied Health Professions Research Day. 11.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/ahrd/2025/posters/11
Building Strong Foundations: A Needs Assessment of Developmental Monitoring Practices in Southeast Louisiana's (LA) Early Head Start Programs
Lions Eye Center
Introduction: Our project was formed and completed as a needs assessment to better understand the needs of local Early Head Start programs in southeast Louisiana. Purpose: This project was formed with three main purposes: 1) assessing current developmental monitoring practices in local Early Head Start Programs; 2) identifying gaps, challenges, strengths and preferences of Early Head Start educators; and 3) developing an actionable improvement plan to enhance developmental monitoring activities. Methods: Completion of this project occurred in three phrases. Phase 0 was completed through semi-structured interviews with Early Head Start directors and coordinators to guide tool identification and development. Phase 1 consisted of the distribution and completion of two surveys including, “The Early Childhood Teacher Experiences Scale (ECTS), and “Early Head Start Survey” (EHS) followed by completion of a focus group with Early Head Start teachers. Phase 2 consisted of distribution and completion of a Parent Survey. Results: Data integration from Phase 1 detailed the following areas of need and challenges: workload and limited support; a need for developmental monitoring and training groups; challenges in parent and community engagement; and teacher well-being and recognition needs. Discussion: Implementing data from this research into Early Head Start programs will be extremely important in improving the early detection of children with developmental delays. Continuing to analyze the data and making sure that the data reflects the lived experiences of those who were surveyed will ensure that our plan of action will be effective.