Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project

1.  An implementation study to examine service needs and use for low-income families with infants and toddlers, assess program implementation, understand programs' theories of change, illuminate pathways to achieving quality, examine program contributions to community change, and identify and explore variations across sites.

2.  An impact evaluation to analyze the effects of Early Head Start programs on children, parents, and families in depth, using an experimental design; descriptive analyses will assess outcomes for program staff and communities.

3.  Local research studies by local researchers to learn more about the pathways to desired outcomes for infants and toddlers, parents and families, staff, and communities.

4.  Policy studies to respond to information needs in areas of emerging policy-relevant issues, including welfare reform, fatherhood, child care, and children with disabilities.

5.  Formats for continuous program improvement to guide all EHS programs in formative evaluation.

Unique Elements of the Early Head Start Research Project

     Consideration of the differences among EHS programs when looking at outcomes. EHS program approaches vary in important ways. For example, some programs deliver child development services through child care, and others use a home visitation approach. These different approaches are appropriate for different programs that have individual community needs, populations, and geography. Early intervention literature suggests that these differences among programs will result in differences in the type and timing of outcomes. Outcomes will also probably be different among programs that emphasize different things. The EHS studies will take all of these variables into consideration when assessing how a program is having an impact on a family and a community.

     Use of the Program Performance Standards as a basis for rating all participating programs. A panel of experts will review the information gathered from the implementation research and rate each program based on the Standards. This systematic assessment makes it possible to determine whether an EHS program is being implemented in each site the way it was designed.

     Assessment of the quality and quantity of key services for children in both EHS and comparison groups. Previous evaluations have not examined in detail the effects of different configurations of child development services available on children.

     Analysis of outcomes by actual program participation. When the project looks at how effective a program has been with a family, the study takes that family's participation into consideration. EHS research is listening to program directors who state that they do not expect programs to help families who drop out. After the effects on families have been assessed, the project will adjust the results based on different levels of participation in a program.

     Use of the same research team to evaluate programs. Often, two research teams evaluate programs, making it difficult for researchers to interpret how a particular program is affecting children and families. When one research team evaluates a program it is easier to analyze a program's impact in relation to its implementation.

     Local researchers. They will often have a unique picture of the local program and community, and this knowledge will add to interpretations of the data. Data from local studies will supplement national data.

The Father Studies

     Early Head Start (EHS) does more to promote father involvement than has typically been done in other early intervention programs for infants and toddlers. EHS programs work directly with fathers and father-figures through such activities as including fathers in home visits; implementing father outreach efforts; providing opportunities for direct father-child interactions; targeting increased male participation in the program; and adding support groups for couples.

     The Early Head Start (EHS) Research and Evaluation project is among the first to explore the involvement of low-income fathers in children's lives, together with mother involvement, in the context of both an intervention program for infants and toddlers and a longitudinal study. The Father Studies help to fill a significant gap in knowledge by increasing our understanding of how fathers and mothers, in the context of the family, influence infant and toddler development. The EHS father research enables us to learn more about how programs support fathers' relationships with their babies and with the babies' mothers.

     The Father Studies represent a coordinated effort of many different agencies. They include the EHS Research Consortium; the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF); the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE); the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); and the Ford Foundation. Together, they work in the spirit of the Fatherhood Initiative started by President Clinton in 1995.

The Father Studies involve four strands:

Interviews with fathers of 24- and 36-month-old children. These interviews in 14 sites examine how fathers influence child and family outcomes. The study also investigates how services influence father involvement, what aspects of programs are effective in getting fathers to participate, and how aspects of a father's life contribute to his involvement in and enjoyment of fathering. In five sites, videotaped observations will provide critical information about father-child interactions.

Study of Fathers of Newborns. This strand, supported by the Ford Foundation, follows 200 to 300 fathers and mothers of newborns. They are interviewed when their children are 1, 3, 6, 14, 24, and 36 months of age to provide an in-depth look at the changing nature of fatherhood and father involvement in children's lives from birth until age 3.

The Practitioner's Study. This strand, also funded by the Ford Foundation, focuses on understanding the different strategies EHS programs use to get fathers involved, and how these strategies serve fathers' needs, their successes and challenges, and how they have changed over time. This strand also looks at how a father's relationship with his child is influenced by an EHS program.

Local Research Studies. These studies are looking at a variety of issues, with each research team focusing on a unique topic. At Michigan State University, for example, researchers are studying the unique contributions of biological fathers; at Utah State University, they're investigating fathers' modes of play with infants and toddlers.

     Early findings of the EHS Father Studies are summarized in the box on the next page. Additional preliminary reports from the EHS Father Studies will be prepared periodically over the next four years, with public use data sets scheduled for release in 2002. For further information, see web-sites at:

• http://www.mathematica-mpr.com
• http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb
• http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/rde

Early Findings of the Father Studies

-  Father involvement was identified as a focus for all Early Head Start programs in the survey of 17 research programs. All the programs reported that they are taking specific steps to involve fathers. The programs have hired men in various staffing capacities, and a majority of the programs have designated a staff member whose responsibility is to promote father involvement.

-  Programs employ a variety of strategies for involving fathers. They report the greatest success in including fathers with activities that focus on parenting or include the children. They report fathers are moderately likely to participate in Policy Councils or advisory boards, attend recreational activities for men and children, and attend men's meetings about employment.

-  Programs are making adjustments as they identify effective strategies and challenges. Some of these adjustments include: developing men's support groups; developing a Male Involvement Plan; using language in program materials that addresses both parents; becoming intentional about using male staff and husbands of staff as role models; developing a survey for fathers; changing the schedule of activities to be more convenient to working fathers; changing mailing lists to include fathers; including fathers in home visits; making a conscious effort to involve fathers in all areas of the program; involving fathers at the time of recruitment and enrollment; having male staff actively involved in recruitment; enabling staff to conduct home visits in teams of two, when appropriate; using more than one staff person to work with the family when the father and mother are separated or are in conflict; and changing the program model from one focused on the mother-child relationship to one that is family-focused.

-  Programs have identified challenges that future research will help them to address. These challenges include a mother-centric program image; fathers who live outside of the home; changing father figures in a child's life; mothers and fathers in conflict with one another; mothers who do not want the father to be involved in the child's life; time for working with the family to be inclusive of fathers when the mother plays a "gatekeeping" role for the father's involvement; and staff fears related to working with men who had been incarcerated or were known to be involved in domestic violence or substance abuse.

-  From focus groups with involved fathers at four sites, researchers report that many fathers are highly committed and very much want to be involved with their children. Interviewers were struck by the strength of the fathers' determination to "be there" for their children and to assume financial responsibility for their children. Fathers and mothers differed somewhat in their perceptions of what fathers should be doing for their children. Many mothers believed that fathers should take a more active role in physical caregiving, such as diapering, feeding, and bathing, while fathers perceived they were already doing these things. Fathers described rough-and-tumble physical play or cuddling and tickling as their primary forms of play with their young children. Fathers expressed greatest frustration in dealing with ill or crying children.

-  Except for the EHS program, many of the fathers lacked a support system and role models, but were also reluctant to accept help. Fathers had many aspirations for their children but few concrete and positive ideas for helping them meet those goals. Some fathers expressed a sense of betrayal by the educational and social service systems. Fathers were reluctant to consider barriers or "downsides" to being a father. With the exception of those fathers who were already actively involved in some part of an EHS program, most fathers were unable to identify sources of support for their role as father.

Louisa B. Tarullo is a Research Analyst in the Commissioner's Office of Research and Evaluation, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E: lbtarullo@acf.hhs.gov.

Project director and co-principal investigator for the EHS National Research and Evaluation Study is John Love, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Ellen Kisker, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Columbia University, are co-principle investigators. The EHS Father Studies Work Group, consisting of EHS national and local researchers and representatives from ACYF, NICHD, ASPE, and the Ford Foundation, carries out Father Studies. Raikes and Tarullo provide oversight of the national research, and Esther Kresh, Head Start Bureau, is the Project Officer.

On many occasions, we all meet people who ask what we do for a living. Many of them might be potential donors or volunteers. Being prepared for these unexpected moments can bring unexpected rewards.

Rather than stumbling through an explanation when you're caught off-guard, the "10/60" rule provides a short, organized way to describe ten things about your Head Start program in 60 seconds.

Practice a 60-second response that includes these ten pieces of information:

1. Name of your program
2. Years in existence
3. Mission
4. Number of children and families served last year
5. Services provided
6. Community served
7. Sources of funding
8. Current needs
9. Number of staff members
10. Number of governing body and policy group members

With this information at your fingertips, you'll be able to respond well to questions and help to spread the good word about Head Start in your community!