Children First Early Head Start

Venice Family Clinic’s Children First Early Head Start is a comprehensive child development program for families with children from birth to 3-years-old and pregnant mothers.

Our goal is to promote the health, safety and well-being of young children and their families by

    • strengthening the bond between parent and child
    • helping parents learn about their child’s needs at each stage of development
    • providing access to free or affordable health care, including medical and dental care, nutrition education, immunizations, and more
    • referring participants to community resources that can help them meet their basic needs, including assistance with housing, food, education, childcare and employment

Children First Early Head Start is a federally funded program that currently serves 376 low-income families on the Westside of Los Angeles.

Click here to read our 2021 Annual Report

Click the applicable link to read our most current newsletter: English | Español

Who is Eligible

Families must meet two eligibility requirements to participate in our Children First Early Head Start program.

  1. Income eligibility – Our program serves families who live at or below 100% of the Federal poverty level (varies by household size; click here to see the current guidelines).
  2. Geographic eligibility – We can only serve families in our service area, which includes Venice, Santa Monica, Culver City, Mar Vista, Palms, the Cadillac/Robertson area, and parts of Inglewood.

Families must agree to participate in weekly home visits from one of our Home Visitors. During these visits, the Home Visitor will observe how the child and parent(s) interact, conduct developmental assessments, screen the child’s dental, hearing and vision, perform home safety checks, and engage the family in fun activities to help them develop a healthy relationship.

Families are also invited to special playgroups, which happen twice each month. At these playgroups, Mom, Dad, and the enrolled child play games and take part in fun activities together, which gives the family a chance to form strong relationships while parents discover more about their child’s development and personality. Playgroup participants also have a chance to meet other families in the community and enjoy a nutritious meal or snack.

How to Enroll

We accept applications at any time during the year.

If you are interested in the Children First Early Head Start program, please download and complete an application. If you want help filling out the application, please call us at 310 664 7536 and one of our staff members will help you.

We score every application based on an established point system. When we have a vacancy, those applicants with the highest points will be enrolled. We prioritize applications from families who have fewer options for assistance, including children with special needs, teen parents, those with high social support needs, and/or a history of maternal depression or family violence.

Once you are enrolled in the program, your family will remain eligible until your child’s 3rd birthday.

All families who meet the eligibility requirements will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic group identification, national origin or ancestry, or mental or physical disability.

Locations

Main Office
Simms Mann Health & Wellness Center
2509 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Phone: 310 664 7536
Fax: 310 664 7589

Prairie Place
10318 Prairie Ave.
Inglewood, CA 90303
Phone: (310) 664-7536

Hawlawn Early Head Start Center
4754 West 120th Street
Hawthorne, CA 90250
Phone: 310 664 7536

Employment, Internships & Volunteering

You may view current job openings at Venice Family by clicking here.

Interns
Children First Early Head Start is always looking for enthusiastic interns who wish to gain knowledge and experience by working with our program. Though most internships are offered during the summer, other assignments are also available. We correspond with the academic institutions of student interns to ensure compliance.

If you would like to pursue an internship position, please contact our Program Director, Stacey Scarborough, at 310 664 7557 or sscarborough@mednet.ucla.edu.

Volunteers
The Volunteer Services department offers a variety of opportunities to get involved in nearly every aspect of the clinic’s operations. We match the interest and experience of our volunteers with the Clinic’s needs and priorities in administration, fundraising, medical, and social services.

Click here to learn about volunteering.

Questions?

For more information, please contact one of our staff:

Leticia Garcia, Family Advocate
310 401 2865 | lsgarcia@mednet.ucla.edu

Yaneli Gomez, ERSEA Coordinator
310 401 2867 | yegomez@mednet.ucla.edu

Fabiola Franco, ERSEA Coordinator
310 664 7581 | ffranco@mednet.ucla.edu