Cuban American Women and the Miami-Dade Head Start Program

Miami-Dade County, Florida is home to the largest concentration of Cuban Americans in the United States. They have remained a cohesive ethnic group and have acculturated into all sectors of Miami society. One program that has facilitated this integration has been the Head Start program. This federally funded program that is designed to provide a multifaceted educational experience for pre- schools has also been instrumental in assisting mothers with enhancing their lives. This study explores the dynamics of the Head Start program by using the voices of the Head Start mothers and others to explain how Head Start has affected their lives. As a Cuban American woman who has worked as a social worker for the Head Start program of Miami-Dade County, Florida the author had experience with both the Cuban American enclave and the federally funded program. Being fluent in the language, she conducted all of the interviews. The interviews were conducted with Cuban American women in different situations as well as with co- ethnic entrepreneurs, Head Start social workers and administrators.