Improving the quality of life for youngsters with HIV - Baltimore City Head Start program

Children Today, May-June, 1990 by Linda S. Crites, Clare Siegel

Education and training on HIV awareness and prevention will continue in all of the Head Start centers in Baltimore. Results of the evaluation research will enable us to address specific training needs on a center-by-center basis. The Pediatric AIDS Care Consortium will proceed with its efforts to build a more efficient, effective coordinated service system for children with HIV infection and their families.

(1) J. P. Johnson, P. Nair and K. M. O'Neil, et al., "HIV Infection in Infants," American Journal of Disabilities in Children, 143, 1989.

(2) Studies show that a child born to an HIV infected mother has a 30 to 50 percent chance of becoming infected. See, for example, J. P. Johnson, et al., op. cit.

(3) M. H. Ultmann, A. L. Belman, H. A. Ruff and B. E. Novick, et al., "Developmental Abnormalities in Infants and Children with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related Complex," Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 27, 1985.

Linda S. Crites, Ph.D., a clinical social worker, serves as research and training consultant to the Baltimore City Head Start HIV Project, Baltimore, Maryland. Clare Siegel, an early intervention specialist, has coordinated the Head Start HIV Project since its inception.