Otero College Child Development Services

Migrant & Seasonal Head Start serves more than 35,000 migrant children across the United States. This Program serves children from six weeks old to six years old whose families are engaged primarily in agricultural work. Qualifications for enrollment in Migrant Head Start are based on federal poverty income guidelines and the federal definitions of migrant and seasonal farm workers. Many enrolled families report that if they did not have Migrant Head Start, they would either have to leave their children by themselves when going to work or stop working and rely on the welfare system.

Getting migrant children out of unsafe environments is a starting point for Migrant & Seasonal Head Start programs. These programs seek to break the cycle of poverty created by moving from place to place and offer positive, nurturing child development programs for children ages birth to school entry age.