Head Start

Head Start is a program of the US government's Department of Health and Human Services which focuses on assisting three- and four-year-old children from low-income families. Created in 1965, Head Start is the most successful, longest-running, national school readiness program in the United States. It provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. As of late 2005, more than 22 million pre-school aged children have participated in Head Start. The $6.8+ billion dollar budget for 2005 provided services to more than 905,000 children, 57% of whom were four years old or older, and 43% three years old or younger. Services were provided by 1,604 different programs operating more than 48,000 classrooms scattered across every state (and nearly every county) at an average cost of $7,222 per child. The paid staff of nearly 212,000 people is dwarfed by an army of volunteers six times as large.

History

Head Start was started by the Federal Government in 1964 through the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to help meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children. A panel of child development experts drew up this progam at the request of the Federal Government, and the program became what became Project Head Start.

The office of Economic Opportunity launched Project Head Start as an eight-week summer program in 1965. The project was designed to help end poverty by providing preschool children from low-income families with a program that would meet emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs.

Head Start was then transferred to the Office of Child Development in the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (later the Department of Health and Human Services) by the Nixon Administration in 1969. Today it is a program within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services. Progams are administered locally by and non-profit organizations and local education agencies such as school systems.

Programs

Early Head Start - promotes healthy prenatal outcomes, promotes healthy family functioning, and strengthens the development of infants and toddlers

Head Start- helps to create healthy development in low-income children. Programs offer a wide variety of services, that depend on a child's and each family's heritage and experience, to influence all aspects of a child's development and learning.

Migrant and Seasonal Program Branch- supports healthy child development across the nation with high quality services

American Indian-Alaska Native Program Branch- provides American Indian and Alaska Native children and families with services such as: health care, educational, nutritional, socialization, as well as other services promoting school readiness. Services are primarily for disadvantaged preschool children, and infants and toddlers.

Services

Eligibility- Eligibility for Head Start services is largely income-based (100% of the federal poverty level), though each locally-operated program includes other eligibility criteria such as disabilities and services to other family members. As of late 2005, up to 10% of any funded program's enrollment can be from over-income families.

Disabilities- All programs provide full services to children with disabilities

Education- The goal of Head Start is to ensure that those children enrolled in the program are ready to begin school. Educational standards are fully outlined in national performance standards which, over the years, have become the de facto standards for high-quality pre-school education programs.

Family and Community Partnerships- both groups involved in operation, governance and evaluation of the program. Both groups make vital contributions.

Health- health is seen as an important factor in a child's ability to thrive and develop. Program provides screenings to evaluate a child's overall health, then help to ensure regular health check-ups, including dental care. All Head Start programs espouse and teach good practices in oral health, hygiene, nutrition, personal care, and safety.

Program Management and Operations- "focus on delivering high-quality child development services to children from low-income families."

Effectiveness

The long term effectiveness of Head Start is controversial.

The authors of Freakonomics find that Head Start has no measurable long term effect on student performance.

Magnuson, Ruhm, and Waldfogel conclude that Early education does increase reading and mathematics skills at school entry, but it also boosts children's classroom behavioral problems and reduces their self-control. Further, for most children the positive effects of pre-kindergarten on skills largely dissipate by the spring of first grade, although the negative behavioral effects continue."

Currie and Thomas write that Head Start has no lasting benefit for black children, but does have some benefits for white children.

 

Resources

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/

 

External links

Welcome to Head Start (official)

National Head Start Association (official)

 

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