Early Head Start (EHS)

Founded in 1975, Haymarket Center is currently the largest substance abuse treatment center in Chicago. In Chicago, only six publicly funded treatment centers offer residential substance abuse treatment for women, and only three (including Haymarket) offer on-site beds for children. In an effort to expand Early Head Start services to Chicago’s most vulnerable families, the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services awarded ARRA funding to Haymarket Center to implement an Early Head Start Home Based program for pregnant women and children 0-3 years old. As a one-of-a kind model program for Illinois, Haymarket Center’s family-centered residential continuum of care for pregnant/postpartum women and their children will serve as the home environment while families are in residence. The goals of the program is to enhance children’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development; assist pregnant women in accessing comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care; support parents’ efforts to fulfill their parental roles; and help parents move toward self-sufficiency. Building on the strong framework Haymarket Center already has in place, Early Head Start Home Visitors will collaborate with parents in using the evidence-based Partners for a Healthy Baby curriculum, Creative Curriculum’s Learning Games, the ASQ and ASQ-SE developmental screenings to accomplish these goals and empower parents to take the lead role in their child’s healthy development.