The first organization that I found on the state level that appealed to me is called Families First. Here in Georgia, this organization is responsible for helping to provide resources to the homeless families as well as counseling, adoption and foster care services, and resources for young parents to help them be successful. This organization thrives because of many dedicated volunteers.
http://www.familiesfirst.org/T80-home-page
The second organization that I found to be very interesting is Georgia's Head Start program. I actually learned a good bit about this program while in the Master's program because a colleague of mine spoke of it often. I think that the services that Head Start offers are wonderful and I especially like that the program focuses on the children before they enter school which helps the family as well as the child.
http://www.georgiaheadstart.org/
The third organization that I found is called Quality Care for Children. The goal of this non-profit organization is to help families find quality childcare for their children at no cost to the parents. They also have a food program that aims to provide healthy meals to families who are struggling to put food on the table. I chose this organization because there are so many families who face these issues daily, but are not aware that help may be available to them.
One job opportunity that interests me is Curriculum Director for a Head Start program. If I was not currently working in the classroom, I would choose to work with Head Start in a leadership capacity so I could help the families of younger children and infants. I think that it is important to make parents aware of the resources that they have available to them before they are in such dire need that they put the safety of their children or themselves in jeopardy.
With advances being made to provide the families with the best possible resources, as of September of this year, a coordinator must have a Bachelor's degree or higher with a concentration in early childhood education.
Jamie - You have nicely researched and identified some organizations that should be very valuable to you. You should be able to identify key individual-types to utilize in your Community of Practice.
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