Early Head Start Benefits Children And Families

Since its beginning in 1965 as a part of the War on Poverty, Head Start's goal has been to boost the school readiness of low-income children. Based on a 'whole child' model, the program provides comprehensive services that include pre-school education; medical, dental, and mental health care; nutrition services; and efforts to help parents foster their child's development. Head Start services are designed to be responsive to each child's and family's ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage. The Congressionally-mandated Head Start Impact Study was conducted across 84 nationally representative grantee/delegate agencies. Approximately 5,000 newly entering 3- and 4-year-old children applying for Head Start were randomly assigned to either a Head Start group that had access to Head Start program services or to a non- Head Start group that could enrol in available community non-Head Start services, selected by their parents. Data collection began in fall 2002 and is scheduled to continue through 2006, following children through the spring of their 1st-grade year. The study quantifies the impact of Head Start separately for 3- and 4-year-old children across child cognitive, social-emotional, and health domains as well as ii on parenting practices. This book is essential reading for those in the education field.

Research on home visiting shows that Early Head Start (EHS) home-based programs benefit from additional training and resources that streamline philosophy and content. In this essential guide, Walsh and Mortensen propose that alignment with Family Life Education’s (FLE) strengths-based methodology results in greater consistency through a model of prevention, education, and collaboration with families. This text is the first to outline linkages between FLE and EHS home visiting. It explores a qualitative study of FLE integrated in a current EHS home-based program and application of FLE methodology to home visiting topics. This approach will influence professional practice and provide a foundation for developing evidence-based home visiting practices. Online content accompanies the text, with videos demonstrating the FLE approach in action and discussion questions to encourage engagement with and understanding of the core material. Transforming Early Head Start Home Visiting: A Family Life Education Approach is essential reading for upper-level undergraduate and masters students in family studies and early childhood education, as well as practitioners working with children and families.

Head Start has served over 16 million children at a cost of $35 billion in the 30+ years of its existence. Funding for Head Start has tripled in the past 10 years. Growing out of the War on Poverty in the mid-1960s, Head Start was created to provide comprehensive educational, health, social, and mental health services to disadvantaged preschool children. This report describes the (1) number and characteristics of those served, (2) services provided and the way they are provided, (3) federal and nonfederal program dollars received and spent by programs delivering Head Start services, and (4) other programs providing similar early childhood services.

As part of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal Head Start and Early Head Start programs received a significant increase in funding. Head Start is the longest-running program to address systemic poverty in the United States. It is also one of the most heavily researched programs in the nation. Still, debate continues about the program's effectiveness. Recent research, however, makes a case for investing in Head Start as a means of helping low-income children achieve better outcomes. Studies suggest that while gains may be small or moderate in some cases, participating in Head Start and Early Head Start gives children important advantages in cognitive development, health, and other domains. In addition, a recent study suggests that even impacts considered small can generate lifetime benefits that exceed the current $9,000-per-student estimated cost of Head Start. This Special Report is a summary based on the following publications: (1) "The Benefits and Costs of Head Start." "Social Policy Report" (Ludwig and Phillips 2007); (2) "Making a Difference in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers and Their Families: The Impacts of Early Head Start, Executive Summary." Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Love et al. 2002); and (3) "Supporting Families, Nurturing Young Children: Early Head Start Programs in 2006." "CLASP Policy Brief" ("Head Start Series") (Hoffman and Ewen 2007). This report discusses the results of studies evaluating the cost effectiveness and impact of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. [This report was featured as the Special Report in the April 2009 issue of the Office of Child Development's newsletter "Developments."].