If your employment and career goals change because of emergencies, Head Start and Early Head Start family services staff and home visitors can work with you to access key resources. Together, you can take steps to achieve your immediate and long-term employment and career goals.

Your Head Start and Early Head Start family services staff or home visitor can partner with you to:

• Identify your immediate employment and career goals and revisit your long-term employment and career goals
• Plan concrete actions
• Track your progress and celebrate your successes

Spotlight On: Employment and Career Goals

Identify Your Immediate Employment and Career Goals and Revisit Your Long-Term Employment and Career Goals

• Talk with your family services staff or home visitor about what employment and career goals you need help with right now, your strengths, and your long-term employment and career goals.

Plan Concrete Actions

• Job Search. Connect to the Career One Stop website to find career and job search resources. American Job Centers (AJCs) offer free help for a variety of employment-related needs. Many AJCs can assist people with unemployment claims and may allow walk-ins depending on the state. There are nearly 2,400 AJCs in the United States. Check with your local AJC to see what services are offered during this time.
• Re-entering the workforce or making a career change. If you are thinking about re-entering the workforce or making a career change, a career assessment may be useful. You can partner with your family services staff or home visitor to take career assessments. These tools will ask questions about your skills, strengths, and interests. Then they will provide you with a list of potential careers based on the answers you give. To learn more about exploring new career interests or to take an assessment, visit MySkillsMyFuture.org, MyNextMove.org, or CareerOneStop.org.
• Other employment sources. Your local mayor’s office, county commissioner’s office, or chamber of commerce may have information about job opportunities in your community. Ask your family services staff or home visitor to share that information with you.

If you have recently lost a job, you can contact your local American Job Center to see if you qualify for any of the following benefits:

• The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which provides retraining funding for laid-off workers who qualify for services
• Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which is for workers whose job loss was the result of increased foreign imports or shifts in production out of the Unites States
• The Dislocated Worker/Rapid Response program, which may offer additional resources to help laid-off workers through a job transition

Track Your Progress and Celebrate Your Successes

Family services staff and home visitors can follow up with you about your progress toward meeting your employment and career goals. Celebrate your successes!

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Last Updated: October 2, 2023