Head Start

Early Head Start

Recognizing that earlier intervention is needed for low-income families and their children, Early Head Start was begun in 1994 under President Bill Clinton. Early Head Start (EHS) is a comprehensive, twogeneration program that provides intensive services that begin with the pregnant mother and work with the family and child during the critical first three years of life. The EHS programs look for improved outcomes in four domains:

• Child development: health, secure attachments, social competence, and cognitive and language development
• Family development: parenting, home environment, family functioning, family health and mental health, economic sufficiency, and parent involvement
• Staff development: professional development and relationships with parents and children
• Community development: enhanced child care quality, community collaboration, and integration of services to support families with young children

[Page 222]Early Head Start programs, like Head Start programs, are guided by the Revised Head Start Performance Standards, which were published in 1996 and became effective in January 1998. Early Head Start programs, like Head Start programs, are monitored to ensure compliance with the federal regulations.

The Impact of Early Head Start

A seven-year study requested by the chief of the ACYF to assess the impact of EHS followed 3,000 EHS and control group families. Results demonstrated that EHS had a positive impact on outcomes for low-income families with infants and toddlers. Although EHS children scored below national norms on language screening tests (mean score of 100), they still scored higher than children in the control group. The social and emotional development of EHS children showed positive gains: They were not as aggressive as children in the control group, they engaged their parents more, and they were more attentive to games and educational objects. Parenting outcomes were also favorable: The parents read more to their children than control group parents, and they were less negative and more supportive in their behavior toward their children. The parents also participated more in job training activities or working toward their GED diploma than control parents.

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