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Parent says Head Start helped her children enter kindergarten ready, cited access to Medi-Cal and CalFresh
Summary
During meeting setup and AV checks, Kelly Gonzalez described how Head Start prepared her children for kindergarten and connected her family to services including Medi-Cal, CalFresh and housing assistance.
Kelly Gonzalez, a resident, said her children were ready for kindergarten after attending Head Start and that the program connects families to health and social services.
"When my kids attended Head Start, they were really ready for kindergarten. They already knew how to write their name," Gonzalez said, adding that children learned the alphabet, colors and shapes and saw improvements in manners and social awareness.
Gonzalez described routine skills she observed, saying children learned to follow directions and simple self-care such as washing their hands independently. "She knows when it's her nap time. When she sits down to eat, she'll go, oh, I have to wash my hands," Gonzalez said.
She also said staff helped families find benefits and other supports: "So if they need help with Medi-Cal, they need help with CalFresh, they need help with housing assistance, we'll guide them to that," Gonzalez said.
There was no formal action recorded on these remarks in the transcript and no vote or item number associated with the comments. Remarks took place amid technical and audiovisual checks while staff and participants prepared materials and confirmed system settings.
