Early Childhood
Early Childhood Center , Early Head Start , Early Intervention Program , Butterflies Program , Healthy Families & Family Day Care Network

Early Childhood Center

University Settlement's Early Childhood Center is an established force in the child care field, combining Day Care and Head Start into a cohesive and dynamic whole. The Center serves 158 children in eight classrooms, through a rich program that includes individual and group learning activities, recreation and free play, music and creative arts, reading and storytelling, nutritious hot meals, and exciting field trips.

Children with special needs are fully integrated into our pre-school classes and offered the support they need to succeed. Small, peer psychotherapy playgroups are used to address simple behavioral problems. Children found to have learning disabilities or physical or psychological problems are provided with individualized speech therapy, occupational therapy and/or psychological counseling.

University Settlement's Early Childhood Center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

• For information about Early Childhood Center please call
  (212) 453-4545.

Early Head Start

Through our Early Head Start program, 100 children under the age of 3 and their families are provided with structured playgroups, parent/infant groups, emergency childcare, parenting workshops, health information, job development activities and full social service support — both at the Settlement and at home. Recently designated a "program of excellence" during its tri-annual federal funding review, our Early Head Start program has collaborated with the renowned Ackerman Institute for the Family to implement a parent-child program to support social-emotional development and school readiness.

Click here for an overview of University Settlement's Early Head Start enrollment statistics.

Click here to see the monthly enrollment report.

Click here for an overview of University Settlement's Early Head Start performance indicators.

Click here for a grant level summary.

• For Early Head Start please call (212) 453-4511.

Early Intervention program

Our Early Intervention Program has a deep commitment to providing high quality home- and community-based services to infants and toddlers with delays and disabilities, regardless of family income or degree of disability.  We operate with a diverse team of over 100 qualified professionals, speaking 11 different languages, led by a director with more than 25 years of experience working in the field.  Our enrollment and the services we provide have steadily increased over the years, so that now we serve more than 250 children throughout Manhattan and the Bronx.

• For Early Intervention please call (212) 453-4509.

Butterflies Program

Our Butterflies Program provides a range of mental health services (including supportive play, children's yoga, parent/child yoga, and parent groups and workshops) to children ages 0-5 and their families. It is designed to support children and their caregivers through life transitions or other difficulties (starting school, adjusting to a new sibling, coping with domestic or community violence, abuse, trauma, etc). Services are available in English, Chinese and Spanish.

• For the Butterflies Program please call (212) 453.4534.
• Click here to learn more.

Healthy Families

Launched in September, 2007, Healthy Families provides expectant and new parents with comprehensive support to ensure the healthy development of their children, reduce parental stress, and integrate a healthy focus on child development into family life. During weekly home visits, Family Support Workers introduce games and activities to increase the quantity and quality of interaction between parents and children, help parents and their young children discover joy in being and playing together, and help parents seize their roles as their child's first and most important teachers. Home visitors also educate families about child development; provide developmental screening for all children in the house under age 3; ensure that everyone in the family is receiving adequate medical care; and help families access resources in the community, including the Settlement's complete range of early childhood programs. Healthy Families also offers a range of parent-child groups, including prenatal yoga, parent-baby yoga, infant massage, and others, working not only to enhance parent-child interaction, but also to help build a supportive community of parents working and raising children together in East Harlem and on the Lower East Side. All services are available in English and Spanish.

• For Healthy Families please call (212) 289.6594.

Family Day Care Network

Our Family Day Care Network is one of the largest home-based childcare networks in New York City. We provide ongoing training to 60 providers who open up their homes to more than 200 children from low-income families. Early Head Start's expert staff works closely with the providers to enhance their home-based programs, and provide a direct link to on-site Settlement services.

• For the Family Day Care Network please call (212) 453-4530.