My E-Portfolio:

Final PowerPoint Presentation

Wilmington University
Practicum in Administration of Human Services AHS 8100

By Kimberly Bolden
My Internship/Capstone Project Journey
As a participant in the Capstone Project,
I will be creating a working manual for
the Family Fatherhood component of my
organization. This manual will include,
resources, policies and procedures and
a list of activities to promote male
involvement within the program.

At this point, I am collecting and

gathering information to organize/format
the manual. This project is exciting and
a bit intimidating for me because this is
not necessarily an area of expertise for
me.
Wilmington Head Start, Inc.
Wilmington Head Start, Inc. is a comprehensive early childhood program that was
established in 1984.

Wilmington Head Start, Inc:

primarily serves low income children ages 3-5 and their families who are residents of
the city of Wilmington Delaware.
WHS serves 477 children per year.
The provision of services provided by WHS are comprised of education, health,
disabilities, nutrition, male involvement and family services.
Parents are a valuable asset to Wilmington Head Start, Inc. and they are
encouraged to participate on the Parent committee and policy Council
which oversees communication and oversight of the overall program and
engage with their children in the program.

Wilmington Head Start, Inc. is committed to partnering with the community (such
as local daycare centers, community colleges, financial literacy entities, social service
agencies and other community action programs) to provide education, information and
support to enable families to be empowered, strengthened and independent members
of the community.
 Ethical Competencies
of
Wilmington Head Start, Inc.
One major ethical standard of WHS is to maintain ALL confidential
information of the students and their families.

During my internship, I was speaking to a father who I personally knew and his
child was in the program about all of the male involvement activities that we
provide. He began to confide in me about issues that he was having with his
childs mother as they were preparing for a custody battle. This dad began to
ask me questions about the mother of his child, I quickly informed him that I
couldnt disclose her information because of our confidentiality policies and I
offered him resources for counseling options.
Integrative Process Model
 Integrative Process Model
During my internship/capstone project, I realized in order to get the desired results of
getting optimal male involvement, I had to put down my biases, think, reflect and
investigate about who I was serving and develop innovative ways to draw my dads in.

My strategies were:
To meet and greet the dads
Find out what they liked and disliked about our program
Develop a plan based on their feed back
Involve team members in the process
Execute planning
 Supervision
During my internship/capstone project, my
supervisor and I developed an awesome
relationship. Even though, we are colleagues, I was
able to let her supervise me. Juggling my primary job
duties and embarking on developing and
implementing my project was difficult but I
maintained constant communication with my
supervisor to let her know if I needed help.
This journey has helped me to further build my skills
a an supervisor My critical thinking skills has
improved greatly during my practicum.
 Communication
Communicating often and actively
listening, while being respectful to Different ways of communicating:
the fathers in my program is

essential to get them to feel valued At team meetings with staff

and to obtain information that I Meeting with families (goal setting)

needed to produce an effective male Communicating via email, phone and text to staff, community
involvement program. partners and families

Actively listening
 Cultural Competence
As a manager within my organization, I meet and work with people from
diverse backgrounds. Some of my parents are economically
disadvantaged, gay and lesbian, physically and intellectually disabled, as
well as English language leaners from the Middle East, Asia, Africa,
Mexico. One of my greatest diversity challenge is overcoming the
language barriers, however one thing that all of my diverse parent
understands and desires is Respect.
As a Human Service worker, it is imperative that I put my persona biases
and thoughts aside so that I can provide the best service possible. One
of the ways that I continue to develop my skills is to attend diversity
trainings and to be honest to myself about my prejudices so that I can
over come them.
Writing and Reporting
An excerpt from my Father Initiative Manual:
Wilmington Head Start, Inc. is committed to recognizing that
male family members and father figures contribute significantly to
the school readiness goals of children and to the well-being of
families. WHS constantly involve fathers as backers, lifelong
supporters, and first educators of their children. Our program also
supports participating dads in increasing their skills, and to
achieve their personal interests and goals. Male family members
and father figures have important and unique contributions to
make to their Head Start communities. Everyone benefits when
their wish to make a positive difference is welcomed
Writing and Reporting cont.
As a manager embarking on my internship/capstone project, I have
learned that documenting is key in retaining and referring back to
important points of information this is vital for protecting myself, the
organization and our families. At my organization, our motto is if its
not written, it didnt happen
Safeguarding information is important as well. Keeping our clients
information confidential is of the utmost importance to our organization.
I have learned how to pinpoint write clear and concise information,
speak clearly and to articulate what I am trying to convey to staff,
parents and community partners as needed.
 Taking Care of Myself
Consistently supervising and interacting with a large diverse group of people each day is
taxing! At my job and during my internship, I have learned to:
Pace myself, everything doesnt need to be rushed
Communicate often, especially during conflict. Talk and then let it go!
Take a break! Even if its for an hour. Take a walk or read a book
Make sure that I balance work and home. Work and play deserves attention
Be honest with myself and others when I feel overwhelmed, accept the help!
Manage my time well. Good organizational skills is key when your time is valuable and
limited.
Ending My Internship
Even though I interned at my place of employment,
developing and implementing my project was an
fulfilling awesome experience, yet it was bittersweet.
I was give the opportunity to delve into a component of
my job, that I wasnt required to; so when I completed
the task and it came to an end, I was bit sentimental
about it. During this process my analytical and oral and
written communication were definitely sharpened.
Planning My Career
For the last 12 years I have been one of the center
directors of my program. I have gained a vast amount
of professional experience during this time and
participating in my internship has just added to my
level of experience.
I feel like its time for me to move on. I am ready to
embark on finding a position in senior management as
an ED or start my own non-profit. I have revamped my
resume and started to look into obtaining my
Doctorate in Education Leadership. In order to make
dreams come true, I have learned to be consistent,
pace myself and to maintain a professional yet open
demeanor at all times.