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01 — Hero

The first five years are the foundation for everything.
Give your child a Head Start in life.

High-quality child care and early education at no cost to income-qualifying families. Available in English and Spanish.

Apply Now →
Bilingual · EN / ES
Family Service Advocate included
Birth through preschool
Children in a CommUnify classroom, engaged and learning through play
Since
1967 Early
Education
Head Start makes a difference for your child!
  • Enrollment open
  • Birth through age 5
  • Bilingual support
A CommUnify classroom
Children's Services · Birth to 5
Since 1967 · Santa Barbara County

The first five years are
the foundation. Give your
child a Head Start.

High-quality early education and childcare — at no cost to income-qualifying families. EN / ES.

Apply Now →
Dear parent,

The first five years are the foundation. Give your child a Head Start.

High-quality early education and childcare for children from birth through preschool — at no cost to income-qualifying families. CommUnify has supported Santa Barbara County families since 1967, with a Family Service Advocate beside you the whole way.

— Your neighbors at CommUnify

Apply Now →
EN / ES Birth – 5 No cost Advocate included
A CommUnify child with their teacher
Enrollment open Birth – Age 5
01. Santa Barbara County · Since 1967
02 — Programs
Our Early Childhood Programs

Two programs. One commitment.

From birth through preschool, Head Start and Early Head Start provide children and parents the support they need to succeed — at no cost to income-qualifying families. Available in English and Spanish.

01
Early Head Start infant care
Infants · Toddlers · Pregnant Women

Early Head Start

Starting from the very beginning.

Early Head Start serves children from birth through age 3 — and pregnant women preparing for what's ahead. Center-based early education and child care in a safe, stimulating environment, with health and wellness check-ups, healthy meals, and a Family Service Advocate who builds a real relationship with your family on day one.

  • Ages: Birth to 3 (and pregnant women)
  • Format: Center-based, full year
  • Cost: No cost to income-qualifying families
  • Includes: Health and wellness check-ups · Healthy meals · Family Service Advocate
Apply Now →
02
A Head Start preschool classroom
Preschool · Ages 3–5

Head Start

The foundation that sets your child up for kindergarten and beyond.

Head Start goes far beyond academics. Your child gets Creative Curriculum® — a research-based approach that builds critical thinking, social-emotional skills, and school readiness through play and exploration. Alongside that: health and wellness check-ups, healthy meals, and a Family Service Advocate dedicated to your whole family for the entire program year.

  • Ages: 3 to 5
  • Format: Full day/full year and part-day options
  • Cost: No cost to income-qualifying families
  • Includes: Creative Curriculum® · Health and wellness check-ups · Healthy meals · Family Service Advocate
Apply Now →
03 — What's Included
More Than a Classroom

When your child enrolls, your whole family gains a team.

Six ways Children's Services supports children, families, and the systems around them.

Research-Based Education

Creative Curriculum® builds critical thinking, social skills, and kindergarten readiness through play-based exploration. Time tested, data driven results.

Health & Wellness

Healthy meals, health and wellness check-ups, dental screenings, and fluoride treatments — included. Low teacher-to-child ratios. STEM and nature-focused interactive play to learn.

Family Service Advocate

Your FSA meets you on day one — before your child's first class. They help you set goals, access community resources, and stay alongside your family all year.

Family Partnership Goals

You set a goal at enrollment: education, employment, stability, or whatever matters most to your family. Your FSA supports you in reaching it.

Parent Engagement

You are a partner in your child's education. Parent engagement is built into every program year; it's a standard, not a bonus.

Community Connection

Head Start is a community, not just child care or early education. Through your FSA, connect to housing, food, health, mental health, financial assistance, and other community resources your family may need.

04 — Family Service Advocate
The Family Service Advocate

The first person your family meets isn't a form — it's a person.

Most programs send you paperwork when you're accepted. Children's Services sends you a person.

Your Family Service Advocate meets your family at the center before your child's first day — not to hand you a packet, but to sit with you. To learn what your child is like. To talk through what the program offers and what you're hoping for, for your family and for yourself.

"Families consistently describe their FSA as a reliable resource — someone they trust to guide them, not just to process them."

That conversation is where your Family Partnership Goal begins. It's a goal you set: stability, education, employment, or something else entirely. Your FSA stays alongside you as you work toward it.

Throughout the year, your FSA is also a connector, someone who knows the landscape of community services. Health referrals. Housing support. Financial assistance. Whatever the need, your FSA knows where to look.

A Family Service Advocate meeting with a parent and young child
05 — Story
A Family Partnership Goal in Action

One mother's journey.

North County · Head Start / EHS Family
Head Start · Early Head Start
A CommUnify family celebrating a milestone
Photo: consent-approved family portrait, or illustration
"

She came to Head Start with a goal: finish high school.

Her son enrolled in Early Head Start, then transferred into the Part Day program. At her first FSA meeting, she set her Family Partnership Goal — her diploma — and started working toward it.

Along the way, she faced cancer. Personal family challenges. The kind of obstacles that would stop most people. While she studied and balanced being a mom, her son's teachers gave him a safe, consistent classroom day after day. Her FSA checked in. Other Head Start parents in her cohort showed up alongside her. The community held the ground steady while she did the work.

In June 2025, she graduated on stage. She invited her CommUnify team to the ceremony. They couldn't make it — but they visited her a few days later. She greeted them with news: she'd enrolled in a 22-week 911 dispatcher training program starting that summer.

“[Pending — Julie to source an attributable quote from the parent.]”

Her child got a strong, positive start. She got a safe place to leave him while she built her future. That's what Head Start is for.

— North County region · Program year ending May 2024 · Shared with consent
06 — Centers Map NEW
Find a Center Near You

Head Start Centers across Santa Barbara County.

Pinpoint the centers closest to your family. Click any pin or list item for driving directions.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
Santa Maria
Guadalupe
Lompoc
Buellton
Goleta
Santa Barbara
Carpinteria
Wireframe placeholder. Development phase: live Google Maps integration with verified centers and click-to-directions.

South County

Carpinteria Head Start Placeholder
Carpinteria, CA
Directions →
Santa Barbara Head Start Placeholder
Santa Barbara, CA
Directions →
Goleta Head Start Placeholder
Goleta, CA
Directions →

Mid-County

Lompoc Head Start Placeholder
Lompoc, CA
Directions →
Buellton Head Start Placeholder
Buellton, CA
Directions →

North County

Santa Maria Head Start Placeholder
Santa Maria, CA
Directions →
Guadalupe Head Start Placeholder
Guadalupe, CA
Directions →
⚠ Content pending — Julie to email Jennifer + Kim for: confirmed list of active centers (Storytellers, Westgate/Sierra Madre flagged as possibly closed); income-qualification threshold; facility-number display policy. Admin/warehouse offices will not be listed here.
07 — Behavioral Health
A child receiving supportive care from a CommUnify behavioral health team member
Warm Referral · From Within
Warm Referral · From Within

When a child needs a little more support.

Some children come into our programs with social-emotional needs that benefit from additional attention. CommUnify's Behavioral Health team partners directly with Children's Services — so if your child's teacher or FSA notices early signs that extra support would help, a warm referral happens from within.

No separate intake. No starting over. Just the right person, at the right time, while there's still time to make a difference.

Learn About Behavioral Health Services →
08 — CTA
Ready When You Are

Ready when you are.

If you're still exploring your options, start with our free screening. The program helps you understand what CommUnify programs and services are available to you. The screening tells you what to expect and what you may qualify for. No documents required to start.

You may also qualify for other CommUnify programs — such as utility bill payment assistance, food and nutrition support, senior services; or financial assistance — programs you might not have known to ask about. Starting with our free screening is the easiest way to find out.
Click Here to Start →
09 — 2-1-1 Helpline
Contact Children's Services

Not sure where to start?

Call or text 2-1-1 — free, confidential, 24/7.
Available in over 150 languages. No income requirement. Free information and referral for any Santa Barbara County family.

Free & Confidential 24 / 7 Availability 150+ Languages No Income Eligibility
Call or Text 2-1-1
Take the Pre-ScreeningFree · ~10 min · EN / ES