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Head Start

Head Start is a program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive services including health, nutrition, and early childhood education to children and families who live below the poverty line. The program’s goals include (a) building and supporting stable family relationships, (b) enhancing children’s physical and social–emotional development, and (c) improving literacy, language, and problem-solving skills to strengthen cognitive development.

Head Start provides several advantages to the children and families it serves, including giving children the opportunity to attend preschool and helping them become better prepared for kindergarten. The program is designed to address the effects of poverty by providing substantial intervention to participating children and their families. There have been questions about the efficacy of Head Start and whether the modest gains achieved in Head Start are worth the investment in the program. This entry first discusses the history of Head Start and then describes its programs and policies and research on its effectiveness.

History of Head Start

Head Start started as a result of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. The Office of Economic Opportunity launched an 8-week summer program called Project Head Start in 1965. Led by a pediatrician and psychologist, this comprehensive child development program helped communities across the nation meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children, aged 3–5 years.

In 1966, Congress authorized Head Start as a year-round program. Head Start began in the federal Office of Economic Opportunity, which was later discontinued. Grant funding and oversight of Head Start programs are now conducted by the federal Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services.

In 1994, Early Head Start began in an effort to serve children from birth to age 3 in response to research evidence; this was an optimal time to intervene to impact children’s long-term development. Since its creation, Head Start has served more than 34 million children, birth to age 5, and their families. Head Start programs were funded to serve nearly 1 million children and pregnant women during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. Federal spending for Head Start that year totaled approximately US$9.2 billion.

Programs and Policies

Head Start provides services each year to children and families across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories. Services in Head Start have expanded to include health screenings, health checkups, dental checkups, and developmental screenings. Educational curriculum for young children is decided by individual programs but must follow federal Head Start performance standards. Family advocates help families to access community resources such as education and employment. Services are designed to respect the family’s culture and experience. In addition to Early Head Start and the main Head Start preschool program, there is specialized Head Start programming that targets (a) migrant and seasonal farm workers, (b) indigenous Americans in centers on or near reservations, and (c) homeless children and families.

Families are a centerpiece of the Head Start program. This emphasis on family partnership provides the rationale for the Head Start governing body called the policy council. Over half of the members of this group must be parents of currently enrolled children. The policy council is required to meet once a month at a time that is mutually convenient to all persons attending the meeting. The policy council approves budget, spending, and new hires.

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