Our Services

Program Options

Mt. Hood Community College Head Start and Early Head Start serves low-income families with young children who live East Multnomah County, in the Parkrose, David Douglas, Centennial, Gresham-Barlow, Reynolds and Corbett school districts. Special programs are available for working parents and parents who are students at Mt. Hood Community College.

Head Start

For children 3-5 years old
3.5-hour classrooms, Monday – Thursday (4 days a week), options for the morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) classes
Classroom open from September to June
Learn-by-playing approach to building social and emotional development
Structured classroom time, including group time, free choice time, and daily time spent outside
Assigned Family Advocate to support parent education, parent-child activities, health screenings, and resources

For children 3-5 years old
7 hour classroom, Monday – Friday (5 days a week)
Classroom open from September to June
Learn-by-playing approach to building social and emotional development
Structured classroom time including group time, free choice time, and daily time spent outside
Assigned Family Advocate to support parent education, parent-child activities, health screenings, and resources

For Children 3-5 years old
Classroom open from September to June
8.5 hour classroom, Monday – Friday (5 days a week)
Learn-by-playing approach to building social and emotional development
Structured classroom time, including group time, free choice time, and daily time spent outside
Assigned Family Advocate to support parent education, parent-child activities, health screenings, and resources

Early Head Start

For pregnant parents and children 0-3 years old
Provides weekly, 90-minute visits with a Home Visiting Teacher in the home
Provides parent education, parent-child activities, health screenings, and prenatal educational services
Focuses on child development activities and parenting skills
Twice a month, Play Groups, with other children and families in the program
Assigned Family Advocate to support with other family goals and community resources

For children who are 2 by September 1st
Twice a week, 4-hour classes.
Twice a month education visits with the teacher in the home
Assigned Family Advocate to support parent education, parent-child activities, health screenings, and resources

For children ages 6 months to 3 years old
Classroom open from September to June
8.5-hour classroom, Monday to Friday (5 days a week)
Learn-by-playing approach to building social and emotional development
Structured classroom time, including group time, free choice time, and daily time spent outside
Assigned Family Advocate to support parent education, parent-child activities, health screenings, and resources

For children ages 6 weeks through 3 years old
Full-day year-round childcare services
EHS-CCP services provided within local childcare centers and certified family childcare homes
For working families receiving childcare subsidy (ERDC or TANF/Jobs)

Please Note:
Language Specific Classrooms are available for Burmese and Spanish. Language Specific Caseloads are offered in Spanish, Russian and Arabic.

If you have any questions or need more information about our programs, please call our main line 503-491-6111.

Eligibility Criteria

You are eligible for our program if you are pregnant or have children under 5 years old by September 1st and you:

Have a child in foster care, or
Are houseless or experiencing housing instability, or
Receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families TANF, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program SNAP, or Supplemental Security Income Benefits SSI, or
Have an income below 100% of the Federal Income Guidelines, or
Qualify per the Housing Cost Adjustment Determination following the 2024 Head Start Rule:
- If housing costs are more than 30% of your annual income, the amount above the 30% can be deducted.

Please Note:
For the Full-Day Child Care Program, families must also be working and receiving a child care subsidy or be a full time MHCC student.

Download our Program Flyer in Your Preferred Language:

Start Now or Make a Referral

Fill Out Your Pre-Application

If you are interested in our program and would like to receive child care services for your children, please fill out the pre-application form. We will contact you soon to finalize your application.

Refer Now

If you are working with a family who you would like us to contact to complete an application, please fill out our referral form and we will be in touch soon.

Our Locations

Mt. Hood Community College Head Start and Early Head Start programs serve families who live in East Multnomah County, in the Parkrose, David Douglas, Centennial, Gresham-Barlow, Reynolds and Corbett school districts.

To learn more about a specific location, click on the colored location icons below! Use your mouse to click and drag the map and use your scroll function to zoom in and out. To filter between Head Start, Early Head Start, and Child Care Partnership program models, click on the arrow icon in the upper left corner of the map to expand the side bar. Then use the check boxes on the left side of the map to select or deselect the program models that will appear on the map.

– Maywood Campus

– Head Start locations

– Early Head Start locations

– Child Care Partnerships

Not sure which school district do you live in?
Go to Portland Maps, search your address and find out what district you are in!