Early Head Start

Early Head Start is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with pregnant women, infants, and toddlers up to age 3. It is a program that came out of Head Start. The program was designed in 1994 by an Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers formed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. "In addition to providing or linking families with needed services—medical, mental health, nutrition, and education—Early Head Start can provide a place for children to experience consistent, nurturing relationships and stable, ongoing routines."

Early Head Start offer three different options and programs may offer one or more to families. The three options are: a home-based option, a center-based option, or a combination option in which families get a set number of home visits and a set number of center-based experiences, There are also locally designed options, which in some communities include family child care.

1. Child Development: "Programs must support the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development of each child." This also includes educating and supporting parents and positive parent-child relationships. The program must provide the following services or it must refer families to outside services that provide these:

2. Family Development: Programs must help families develop and reach goals for both parents and children. Each family will work with the staff to create a family development plan that focuses on all different needs of the family including social, economic, and the child's developmental needs. Families involved in multiple programs will receive help to integrate all programs into one plan and system of services. The services that programs must provide directly or through referral include:

3. Community Building: In order to create a complete network of services and support for pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, Early Head Start must assess a community and its services. The goal is to create a network in the community to support these families and their needs by giving them access to services and making these services more efficient for all families in the community.

4. Staff Development: The quality of the staff is a key structure of the Early Head Start program. Staff members involved with the program must develop supportive relationships with parents and children. Staff will have a continuous learning process which includes trainings, supervision, and mentoring in order to keep them focused on the main goals of the program and help them build better relationships with both families and children. Development will be focused on child development, family development, and community development.

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