Early Head Start Fact Sheet

Objective

• Early Head Start was established under the 1994 Head Start Reauthorization Act to serve low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers.
• This program is family centered and community based and designed to enhance children's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development.
• Early Head Start supports parents in fulfilling their parental roles and helps them move toward economic independence.
• Programs respond to the unique strengths and need of their communities and of each child and family within that community. They have a broad range of flexibility in how they provide their services.
• Early Head Start also offers families of young children with disabilities or developmental delays an inclusive environment.

Eligibility

• Participation in this program is determined based on referrals by local entities, such as Head Start programs, to Early Head Start program centers.

Services

• Programs offer the following core services:
  • High quality early education in and out of the home
  • Family support services
  • Home visits
  • Parent education
  • Comprehensive health and mental health services, including services for pregnant and post-partum women
  • Nutrition
  • Child care
  • Ongoing support for parents through case management and peer support.

Facts and Figures

• Early Head Start projects, plus a number of Parent and Child Centers, and Comprehensive Child Development Programs serve 22,000 children and families in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
• The projects are operated under grant awarded by the federal government. Sponsoring organizations include Head Start grantees, universities, school systems, community mental health centers, medical centers, city and county governmental agencies, Indian tribes, Community Action Agencies, child care providers, and other non-profit organizations.

Head Start Resources

• Questions about Early Head Start may be submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Head Start Bureau, 330 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20202
• You may also wish to contact the Early Head Start National Resource Center, Zero to Three, 734 15^th Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005; phone: (202) 638-1144; fax: (202) 638-0851; Web site: http://www.zerotothree.org/.
• Refer to the Department of Health and Human Services Web site: http://www.dhhs.gov for further information about children, including infants and toddlers, and for links to research, helpful publications, libraries, and organizations that assist children.