Families enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start of Fayette County were invited to “Alphabet Safari” held at the Lemont Furnace Head Start Center on November 19, 2025. The theme of the event was to focus on language and literacy skills from the program’s school...
As we enter the holiday season, we also enter the cold and flu season. Let’s face it, no one enjoys being sick so here are some common reminders about when you or your children should stay home from work or school. Fever- a fever over 100.4 Vomiting – more than 2...
Mental Health Starts in the Womb Mental health is a very important and pervasive concept in today’s world, often highlighting its importance during teenage years, and into adulthood/end of life. In our line of work, we understand that not only does mental health...
Building Skills. Strengthening Connections. Shaping Futures at PIC By: PIC Welcome Committee – Amy Lanz, Marette Simpson, Hannah Smail November is National Career Development Month, a time to reflect on how we continue to grow in our professions and...
Latest podcast
Head Start / Early Head Start FAQs The Private Industry Council discusses frequently asked questions for Head Start and Early Head Start students. Private Industry Council operates the Head Start / Early Head Start program for Beaver and Fayette Counties in the...
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. When we think of mental health, many people may only think of the mental health of adults; however, children are just as affected by mental health concerns and behavioral challenges. In 2024, 11.5% of children have experienced severe major depression (USA Today, 2024), 11.3% of children ages 5-17 were diagnosed with ADHD (CDC, 2024), and 1 in 36 children in the United States has autism (Autism Speaks, 2024).
Over the last five years, early childhood has seen an increase in challenging behaviors, and children either having mental health diagnoses or their families having trouble getting a diagnosis for their child in order to get the services that are needed to help their child flourish. Over the last year, the Head Start/Early Head Start of Beaver County’s Mental Health and Disabilities Team has increased the accessibility to mental health care for our children through partnering with the Psychology and Learning Center, located in Monaca. The Psychology and Learning Center provides services such as evaluation, therapy, and medication management to children, adolescents, and adults.
Typically, the process to get a psychological evaluation is held in three separate sessions: the intake, the evaluation, and the review. Due to a high need for services with our families and lack of certain resources in the county (mainly transportation), our connect at the Psychology and Learning Center, along with the doctors at the center, created a hybridized process to streamline evaluations with our families. Instead of the three sessions, we were able to combine the first two sessions into one and have the final session either virtual or in-person depending on the person’s ability to get to the center. Not only have they created this hybrid model for us, but there has been great flexibility in getting our children in for evaluations, waiting no more than 2 months to get evaluated.
This school year, our team has referred 12 children, 2 of which are awaiting diagnoses, 3 to be evaluated, and 7 which have already received diagnoses. This isn’t counting the handful of children who came into our program with evaluations from the Psychology and Learning Center. With this continued partnership, there will be more access to mental health services and a greater destigmatization of mental health diagnoses/understanding mental health in our children.
724-836-2600