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Snapshots of the Research Programs in Fall 1997
The 17 Early Head Start research programs are described briefly below (with their research partners indicated in parenthesis). Detailed profiles of these programs are presented in Volume II of this report.
Child Development Inc. Early Head Start, Russellville, Arkansas (University of Arkansas, Little Rock). Child Development Inc., a community-based organization that operates child development programs, operates a center-based Early Head Start program in centers located in three rural Arkansas counties. At the time of the site visit, the program had spaces for 45 families. The program serves mostly white, working-poor families, most headed by a single mother. The program provides full-time child development services in its centers and offers parent training and case management in group sessions and during home visits. When they enroll in the program, parents must agree to spend two hours per week on self-improvement activities, including one hour of developmental activity with their child. Child development services are based on the premise that children should lead by expressing their needs and interests and that staff should be there to support them.
Venice Family Clinic Children First Early Head Start, Venice, California (University of California, Los Angeles). The Venice Family Clinic, a private community health clinic that has provided health care to low-income families for more than 25 years, operates the home-based Children First Early Head Start program for 100 families in the Venice area. The program, which serves primarily Hispanic families, provides child and family development services in weekly home visits, as well as in parent education and other group activities. The program refers families who need child care to a state-funded resource and referral agency that screens providers, makes referrals, and monitors quality. The child development services focus on strengthening parents' and caregivers' relationships with children through instruction and modeling.
Clayton/Mile High Family Futures, Inc. Early Head Start, Denver, Colorado (University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University of Denver). Clayton/Mile High Family Futures, Inc., a partnership between a foundation and a child care resource and referral agency, offers Early Head Start services to 100 families in Denver. The program serves low-income families from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. It provides child and family development services in three ways, depending on family needs and preferences: (1) in weekly home visits, (2) through center-based child development services and monthly home visits, and (3) in a parent-child cooperative that meets twice a week and conducts monthly home visits. Child development services focus on enhancing parent-child relationships and helping parents meet their children's needs.
Family Star Early Head Start, Denver, Colorado (University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University of Denver). Family Star, which operates a Montessori school for infants and toddlers, operates a center-based Early Head Start program for 75 families at two centers in northeast and northwest Denver. Many families in the program are Spanish-speaking Latino families. The program provides full-time child development and care in Family Star's Montessori school while parents are working or in school and offers monthly parent education meetings. Program services are child-centered, and staff members speak both Spanish and English with the children.
Mid-Iowa Community Action, Inc. Early Head Start, Marshalltown, Iowa (Iowa State University). Mid-Iowa Community Action, Inc., a 24-year-old community-based organization that provides services to low-income families, operates a home-based Early Head Start program for 75 families in five rural counties in central Iowa. The program, which serves primarily white, two-parent families, provides child development services in weekly home visits and family development services in biweekly home visits. The program also holds monthly parent meetings in each county. The child development services focus on strengthening parents' skills and abilities as their children's first teachers.
Project EAGLE Early Head Start, Kansas City, Kansas (University of Kansas). The University of Kansas Medical Center's Child Development Unit operates Project EAGLE Early Head Start for 120 families in Kansas City, Kansas. The families are ethnically diverse. Staff members provide child and family development services primarily in weekly or biweekly home visits. The program has established collaborative agreements with several child care centers and family child care providers in the area to provide care for Project EAGLE children, and program staff provide ongoing training and technical assistance to center staff members and the family child care providers to ensure that the quality of care is high. The child development services are designed to increase parents' responsiveness to their children, engage them in their children's development, and empower them to obtain the formal and social supports they need to create a better environment for their children.
Region II Community Action Agency Early Head Start, Jackson, Michigan (Michigan State University). The Region II Community Action Agency, a community-based organization with more than 30 years of experience serving low-income families, operates a home-based Early Head Start program for 75 families in Jackson County, Michigan. The program, which builds on the agency's Infant Mental Health Program, serves mostly white, single-parent families. The program provides child and family development services in weekly home visits by registered social workers and in monthly play groups for parents and children. In the home visits, Early Head Start specialists work extensively with parents on their problems in order to enable them to be better parents.
KCMC Early Head Start, Kansas City, Missouri (University of Missouri at Columbia). KCMC Child Development Corporation is a community-based organization that provides child care and Head Start services to low-income families. At the time of the site visit, KCMC operated a home-based Early Head Start program for 75 families in the poorest neighborhoods of Kansas City, Missouri. This program serves primarily African American, single, teenage parents. In collaboration with the Kansas City, Missouri, School District's Parents as Teachers program, it provides child and family development services primarily in regular home visits and parent group meetings. At the time of the site visit, KCMC had recently opened a new child development center and expected many Early Head Start children to enroll in it. Child development services focus on establishing and supporting parent-child relationships and working with parents to support their children's development.
Educational Alliance Early Head Start, New York, New York (New York University). The Educational Alliance, a community-based organization that began as a settlement house and now provides many services, including Head Start, in New York City, operates a center-based Early Head Start program for 75 families in three centers. One center is located at the Educational Alliance headquarters, one is located in a high school for pregnant and parenting teenagers. At the time of the site visit, the Educational Alliance operated a third site at a residential program for pregnant and parenting substance-abusing women. The families served by the program are ethnically diverse, predominantly single-parent families. The program emphasizes the development of supportive relationships and mental health, and in addition to center-based child development services, provides families with psychotherapy services.
Family Foundations Early Head Start, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (University of Pittsburgh). The University of Pittsburgh's Office of Child Development operates a home-based Early Head Start program for 120 families in four program settings in three diverse communities in the Pittsburgh area. Across the four settings, the program serves mainly African American and white families headed by single parents. The program provides services to families in home visits--family advocates visit families weekly to address child development issues, and family development specialists visit families biweekly to work with them on their goals and link them with community services. Staff members also organize group activities for parents and families at each center. Child development services focus on working with parents to improve their interactions with their children.
School District 17 Early Head Start, Sumter, South Carolina (Medical University of South Carolina). School District 17 in Sumter, South Carolina, operates a new Early Head Start program for 75 families. The program provides center-based and home-based child development services to pregnant and parenting primary and secondary school-age students and young high school graduates who are employed. Most of the parents in the program are African American, teenage parents. Parents are required to spend time daily with their children in the centers, where teachers model good parenting practices, learn about parents' concerns, and respond to them. Parent educators conduct weekly home visits with families whose children are not enrolled in the centers and less frequent home visits with families whose children are enrolled in the centers to work with them on parenting and child development, help them identify their needs and goals, and link them to services in the community. Child development services are focused on teaching parents to take responsibility for themselves and their children, teaching them how to access resources they need to be better parents, and providing high-quality child care that is child-centered, child-directed, and adult-supported.
Northwest Tennessee Head Start, MacKenzie, Tennessee. Northwest Tennessee Head Start operates a center-based Early Head Start program for 75 families in child development centers located in five rural Tennessee counties and in the town of Jackson, Tennessee. The program serves mostly African American, single-parent families. Many parents are teenagers who live at home with their own mothers. The Early Head Start centers provide full-day, full-year child care and parent training activities. Program staff also provide family development services and referrals designed to assist families in achieving self-sufficiency. The program focuses on providing developmentally appropriate and responsive care in a nurturing environment.
Bear River Early Head Start, Logan, Utah (Utah State University). The Bear River Head Start agency operates a home-based Early Head Start program for 75 families in three rural counties in northern Utah and southern Idaho. The program serves primarily white, two-parent, working-poor families. The program provides child and family development services primarily in weekly home visits and weekly Baby Buddy groups for parents and children. Staff members work to foster positive parent-child interactions and enhance parents' understanding of their children's development. They also work with parents to help them achieve their personal and family goals and link them with needed services in the community.
Early Education Services Early Head Start, Brattleboro, Vermont (Harvard Graduate School of Education). The Brattleboro, Vermont, school district's Early Education Services office offers both home-based and center-based Early Head Start services to 75 families in rural Windham County, Vermont. The Early Head Start program builds on the school district's experience operating a variety of programs for low-income parents with young children. The program serves primarily white families, half of whom include two parents. The program provides child and family development services primarily in home visits, but also provides center-based child development services for a small number of families and brokers child care for 17 children in family child care homes and center-based settings in the community. The program also organizes play groups and monthly parent-child group activities. Teams of staff members work with families to build on their strengths and achieve their personal and family goals, and they link families with needed services in the community. Child development services are designed to promote strong parent-child relationships and positive interactions.
United Cerebral Palsy Early Head Start, Fairfax County, Virginia (Catholic University of America). United Cerebral Palsy of Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia operates a new Early Head Start program for 75 families in Fairfax County, Virginia. The program serves an extremely diverse group of working-poor families, including military families. Many of the families are immigrants who do not speak English or do not speak it well. The Early Head Start program provides child development services to some families in a child care center, some families in family child care, and some families in weekly home visits. Families with children enrolled in the child care center or in family child care homes receive family development services in monthly home visits. Families are also invited to group socialization activities twice a month. The program provides inclusive services to children with disabilities and works to foster inclusive services for all children in the community.
The Children's Home Society of Washington Families First Early Head Start, South King County, Washington (University of Washington, School of Nursing). The Children's Home Society of Washington operates the Families First Early Head Start program for 120 families in South King County, Washington. The Early Head Start program builds on the agency's experience as a child welfare agency. The program serves diverse families. The program provides child and family development services in two ways: (1) in weekly home visits, or (2) in child care centers operated by the Children's Home Society, with monthly home visits. All families also receive monthly home visits from a public health nurse and are encouraged to attend weekly parenting education classes. Child development services focus on building supportive relationships, especially between parents and children.
Washington State Migrant Council Early Head Start, Yakima Valley, Washington (University of Washington, College of Education). The Washington State Migrant Council, the largest Hispanic-operated and Hispanic-serving organization in the northwest, operates a home-based Early Head Start program for 75 intrastate migrant families in six small towns in Yakima County, Washington. The program serves primarily first-generation Mexican Americans who migrated to Washington to work on farms. The majority speak only Spanish. The program provides child and family development services primarily in biweekly home visits and group activities for parents and children. Child development services focus on establishing supportive relationships and enhancing the social and verbal contexts for early childhood development. The program emphasizes sensitivity to Mexican American heritage and culture and sensitivity to families' concerns with acculturation.
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