What Is In-Kind?

In-kind is vital to your child's Head Start or Early Head Start experience. In-kind is an extension of the classroom or home visits and includes activities you do with your child all the time. In-kind gives you the opportunity to be your child's teacher. What a great way to spend time together!

Our Early Head Start and Head Start programs are federally funded programs. In-kind is needed in order to keep servicing children and families in central South Dakota. It is a requirement of our grant that every dollar Early Head Start/Head Start receives from the government we must obtain 25% as local match. This local match is call "in-kind" (or volunteer time).

Each week you will receive an in-kind sheet with daily learning activities to do with your child(ren). Your child's teacher or home visitor will take your completed sheets and will give you a new in-kind sheet weekly. If each family enrolled in our program provides a minimum of one hour a day of in-kind we will reach our Federal goal each year!

Important reasons for families enrolled in Early Head Start/Head Start to provide In-Kind hours to our program are:

1. Your time means we remain fully funded! For every hour spent working with your child, approximately $10.00 is earned for the Head Start Program.
2. As your child's first and most important teacher, writing down your In-Kind helps you realize all you do! It enables you to be a better parent to your child.
3. When you help us, it enables us to serve you and your family better.

There are many ways to earn In-Kind hours, such as...

• Volunteering in the classroom.
• Preparing materials at home for use in the classroom.
• Time spend doing individualized activities with your child daily (reading, singing, naming colors, playing, counting, sorting laundry...the list goes on!).
• Time spent doing individualized Prenatal Activities.