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Early Head Start: It's a Great Time to be a Baby!

By Merrily C. Beyreuther, Former Chief, Program Development Branch, Head Start Bureau

In June of 1993, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala established the Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion to review Head Start and make recommendations for its improvement and expansion.

The Advisory Committee's report, Creating a 21^st Century Head Start, recommended implementing the following three broad principles:

1. Ensuring that every Head Start program can deliver on Head Start's vision of striving for excellence in serving both children and families;

2. Expanding the number of children served and the scope of services provided in order to be more responsive to the changing needs of today's children and families; and
3. Forging and enhancing partnerships beginning at the community and on to the State and national levels to see that Head Start is working to meet the needs of children and families.

In May 1994, the Head Start program was reauthorized with bipartisan support. The legislation implemented the recommendations of the Advisory Committee and included a provision for developing a new program for families serving infants and toddlers. Three percent of the Head Start appropriation in 1995 was set aside for this funding, four percent in 1996 and 1997, and five percent in 1998.

In the summer of 1994, an Advisory Committee on Services to Families with Infants and Toddlers was established to help design this new program. This Advisory Committee built on the success of the Head Start Parent and Child Center program, the Migrant Head Start program's services to infants and toddlers, and the Comprehensive Child Development Program.

The Advisory Committee established four cornerstones and nine principles around which Early Head Start (EHS) programs should be built and which every program should embody.

As the Early Head Start programs are being implemented, the Head Start Bureau is studying them closely and learning from them.

To assure the success of Early Head Start, a multifaceted strategy has been designed which includes:

• High quality programs;
  
  
• Selection of the best applications to administer the programs;
  
  
• Designing a training and technical assistance (T/TA) approach to support the programs;
  
  
• Designing a research strategy that supports EHS as a learning community; and
  
  
• Continuously strengthening the management of the EHS program.

HIGH PROGRAM QUALITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

In publishing the program announcement for EHS programs, a detailed description of the expectations for grantees was included.

This built on the four cornerstones as well as the nine principles from the Report of the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers.

Further, the proposed Performance Standards have been developed and address pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and preschool age children.

ENSURING THE BEST APPLICANTS AND GRANTEES

In 1995, over 580 EHS applications were received and 68 grants were selected for funding. In 1996, 75 additional grants were funded, for a total of 143 EHS grants prior to the end of the 1996 fiscal year.

T/TA APPROACH TO SUPPORT EHS

A T/TA approach has been designed which will build upon the current expertise of Head Start while also acquiring infant/toddler expertise. This approach will support the new EHS programs while also ensuring that the Head Start community benefits from the knowledge that is being acquired.

HEAD START RESEARCH

On both the local and the national level, the Head Start Bureau has envisioned EHS as a learning community for how quality services should be delivered to pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers. Therefore, as was described in the Program Announcement in the Federal Register, continuous improvement, evaluation, research, and demonstration activities play a critical role in this initiative.

A national evaluation contract has been awarded to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., to conduct a cross-site impact evaluation. All EHS grantees will be participating in continuous improvement activities and reviewing and measuring program processes and progress toward their stated objectives to furnish data for this evaluation study.

CONTINUOUS STRENGTHENING THE MANAGEMENT OF HEAD START

The Head Start Bureau is working in new ways to strengthen the management of all Head Start programs. The assistance that we provide to EHS grantees, the collaboration with the Regional Offices, the work of the T/TA system, and the continuous management improvement by the grantees are helping to ensure a successful EHS program.

At this time in the history of the country, EHS is part of something truly important in providing services to families in communities all across the country, and in working within the communities to support families with very young children. For what EHS can do for pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers is what Head Start has done for preschool-aged children and their families over the last 31 years.

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Last Modified: 10/31/01