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, monies are 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.