Table of Contents | Previous | Next |
Early Program Successes
Despite the challenges of implementing a new program in a changing environment, by fall 1997 the Early Head Start research programs had made substantial progress toward implementing the Early Head Start model as envisioned by program planners:
- At the time of the site visits, the programs
were increasing their focus on child development.
Many programs began with a strong child development component. Others
with a history of focusing on family support services were making considerable
progress in strengthening child development services, with help from
training and technical assistance providers.
- Most programs provided services that were
tailored to meet the individual needs and circumstances of families
and children. Child development services were almost always
individualized based on developmental assessments and to respond to
needs expressed by parents. Services were almost always provided in
the language families spoke at home (usually English or Spanish).
- Programs that provided center-based child
development services were able, in most cases, to provide good to excellent
care. They were able to meet the ratio and group size requirements
specified in the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards, which
were set at levels generally associated with high-quality care and good
child outcomes. On average, they received an ITERS score of 5.4 (in
the good to excellent range), and all programs received an average ITERS
score above 4.
- The programs included a strong focus on helping
families obtain physical and mental health services. Many of
the research programs had developed strong partnerships with providers
of health care services to families. With the help of their partners,
many programs provided health education, health screenings, health care,
and counseling. Although their focus on health services was strong,
many programs did not yet have systems in place to systematically track
whether children received needed services.
- Many of the research programs were making special efforts to involve fathers in the lives of their children and
in the Early Head Start program. Many programs not only encouraged
fathers and father-figures to be involved in their children's lives
and to participate in program activities, but also designed special
activities for them. Many programs had hired someone to lead their efforts
to involve fathers, including residential, nonresidential, biological,
and social fathers. Although the levels of participation by fathers
were often low, many programs had succeeded in engaging a core group
of fathers in the special activities.
- All the programs offered substantial staff
training and support to staff members. The research programs,
especially home-based and mixed-approach programs, hired well-educated
staff members and provided regular training opportunities. They also
encouraged staff to participate in community training events and other
professional development activities. Program leaders also worked with
staff individually to help them review their work and address difficult
issues as they arose.
- Early Head Start staff members generally
expressed strong commitment to their work. The research programs
have succeeded in creating pleasant and supportive work environments
and in finding and building a committed staff that works very hard to
accomplish program goals.
- The Early Head Start research programs had all forged strong community partnerships and were participating actively in community collaborative groups. All the programs had community partners and worked with other agencies to help meet families' needs. In addition, Early Head Start staff members often played leadership roles in community collaborative groups.
Conclusion
All the Early Head Start research programs were motivated by a strong desire to improve services to children and families. Staff members' desire to achieve program excellence and their hard work to improve the lives of the children and families they serve was very evident in discussions during site visits. Their willingness to engage in self-reflection and their receptiveness to feedback are likely to help them learn from their early experiences and adapt to changes as they continue to serve low-income families and children.
Even at this early stage, six research programs had fully implemented Early Head Start according to the ratings in fall 1997. These programs had fully implemented all or nearly all of the program components we rated, and all of them had fully implemented the early childhood development and health services and staff development requirements that we examined. Moreover, another 8 of the 17 were moderately implemented, that is, fully implemented in some areas but not others. Three programs were judged to be at a low level of implementation.
The research programs are leading the way, both as members of the first two waves of Early Head Start programs and as participants in the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project. By sharing the lessons they have learned and engaging in partnerships with researchers that will enhance the relevance and usefulness of the evaluation research, they are paving the way for new programs. Lessons from these sites will inform the continuous improvement of the overall Early Head Start initiative.
| Table of Contents | Previous | Next |