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IX. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AND FAMILIES’ SERVICE NEEDS AND USE
The previous chapters examined the extent to which the Early Head Start research programs implemented services that met the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards in key areas. This chapter examines Early Head Start program services from the perspective of families and their needs and goals (see descriptive data on families in Chapter I). We describe the data used to examine participation and service needs and use; provide an overview of family characteristics and needs; assess families’ levels and intensity of participation in Early Head Start during the first 16 months after enrollment; detail their service needs and use in specific areas, including the match between service needs and use; describe family engagement; and relate families’ goals approximately 16 months after they enrolled in Early Head Start.1 We also include brief reports from local research and program staff that provide local perspectives on family engagement and participation in services.
A. DATA SOURCES
We drew on several data sources for analyses of service needs and use. These include:
-
Head Start Family Information System application and enrollment forms completed at the time of enrollment
-
Parent services follow-up interviews targeted for 6 and 15 months after program enrollment (completed an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment). We included in our analyses only families for whom data were available for both follow-up periods (75 percent of research sample members).
-
Ratings of each family’s engagement with the program provided by program staff in summer 2000, after most families had left the program and most children had reached 36 months of age
-
Data on program characteristics and ratings of program implementation developed in the implementation study
The follow-up period varied over a wide range for each of the parent services interviews. The length of followup ranged from 4 to 15 months and averaged 7 months after enrollment for the first follow-up interview. It ranged from 9 to 27 months and averaged 16 months after enrollment for the second follow-up interview. However, approximately 90 percent of the first follow-up interviews were conducted between 5 and 9 months after enrollment, and 88 percent of the second follow-up interviews were conducted between 14 and 19 months after enrollment.
The questions on service use were broad, and to avoid substantial recall error, most did not require families to recall detailed aspects of the services they received. For example, for most services, families were asked whether or not they had received the service and how often they received it, in broad ranges of frequency (such as weekly or monthly or on some other interval).
Because the parent services follow-up interviews were conducted according to the length of time since families enrolled, the ages of the research sample children at the interview time varied.2 On average, the focus children were 10 months old when the first follow-up interview was completed and 20 months old when the second followup was completed. Children’s ages ranged from 0 (unborn) to 25 months at the time of the first follow-up interview, and from 7 to 36 months at the second.
B. INVOLVING FAMILIES IN SERVICES: LEVELS AND INTENSITY OF PROGRAM PARTICIPATION
Not only is it important for programs to implement and offer high-quality services, they must also enroll families and engage them in program services. Engaging them in services entails getting them to participate in program activities and gaining and sustaining their attention and commitment to the goals of those activities. The following subsections examine levels of participation by research families in program services during the first 16 months, on average, after they enrolled in the Early Head Start research programs.3
1. Overall Participation Levels
Levels of participation in Early Head Start services were high during the first 16 months after program enrollment. Overall, 93 percent of the research families received at least one Early Head Start home visit, participated in Early Head Start child development centers, met with an Early Head Start case manager at least once, and/or participated in Early Head Start group activities (group parenting education, group parent-child activities, or a parent support group) (Table IX.1). Nearly all these families received more than minimal services (more than one home visit, more than one case management meeting, center-based child care, and/or group parenting activities). Most families (86 percent) received core services through which child development services were provided—home visits or center-based child development services.
Overall participation rates were high in most of the research programs. They exceeded 90 percent in 13 of the 17 programs (not shown), and in 2 of the remaining programs overall participation rates were only slightly lower (88 percent).
| Average Percentage of Families Who Received: | Sample Sizes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Least One
Key Early Head Start Servicea |
More than Minimal Early Head Start Servicesb |
More than
Minimal Early Head Start Core Servicesc |
||
| Full Sample | 93 | 91 | 86 | 1,052-1,133 |
| Program Approach in 1997 | ||||
| Center-based | 87 | 83 | 75 | 224-232 |
| Home-based | 94 | 93 | 89 | 487-534 |
| Mixed-approach | 94 | 93 | 90 | 341-367 |
| Pattern of Implementation | ||||
| Early implementers | 97 | 96 | 94 | 368-389 |
| Later implementers | 92 | 90 | 86 | 387-427 |
| Incomplete implementers | 88 | 86 | 78 | 298-317 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
conducted an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: Percentages are average percentages across programs in the given group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. aKey services include home visits, case management meetings, center-based child development/child care services and/or group activities such as parenting classes or group socializations.(back) bMore than one Early Head Start home visit, more than one Early Head Start case management meeting, at least two weeks of center-based child development/child care, and/or Early Head Start group activities.(back) cMore than one Early Head Start home visit and/or at least two weeks of center-based child development/child care.(back) |
Levels of participation were higher in home-based and mixed-approach programs. Because the two programs with the lowest participation rates (66 and 77 percent) were center-based, center-based programs overall had the lowest participation rates. In one of these programs, several factors contributed to these low rates, including some families’ need for full-time child care before the program expanded to offer it, decisions to go to other programs that were more convenient, and overwhelming life stress that interfered with families’ ability to take advantage of program services.4 In the other, a very rapid initial recruiting process and a delay in opening one center may have led some program families to make other child care arrangements.
Early, full program implementation appears to have promoted high participation rates. Programs that were fully implemented by fall 1997 (the early implementers) involved 94 percent of families in home visits and/or center-based services, compared with the 86 percent involved by the later implementers and 78 percent by the incomplete implementers (Table IX.1).
2. Home Visits
All Early Head Start programs are required to visit families at home, whether they are home-based, center-based, or mixed-approach. While in center-based programs, services are delivered primarily in the center, and staff are required to visit children and their families at home at least twice a year. They may meet with families in other places if staff safety would be endangered or families prefer not to meet at home. Home visitors are required to visit families receiving home-based services at home weekly, or at least 48 times per year. In mixed-approach programs, some families receive home-based services, some families receive center-based services, and some families may receive a combination of center-based services and home visits.
Nearly all families enrolled in the home-based Early Head Start programs received more than one home visit. In these programs, 92 percent of families reported receiving at least one Early Head Start home visit, and 89 percent reported receiving more than one, which indicates at least minimal program participation (Table IX.2).5 Levels of receipt of more than one Early Head Start home visit in the seven home-based research programs ranged from 84 percent to 95 percent (not shown).
Receipt of Early Head Start home visits remained high throughout the first two follow-up periods but declined modestly in the second period as some families left the program.6 On average, 70 percent of families reported receiving more than one Early Head Start home visit by the time of the first followup. Reported home visit receipt declined to an average of 58 percent of families during the second follow-up period (not shown).
As noted earlier, the research programs found it very challenging to complete the required weekly home visits with many families. Among the home-based research programs, 57 percent of families, on average, reported receiving Early Head Start home visits at least weekly during the first follow-up period, and 52 percent reported Early Head Start home visits at least weekly during the second follow-up period (Table IX.2). An additional one-fifth of families reported receiving visits less than weekly but more than monthly, and 13 percent reported monthly or less frequent visits (not shown). In contrast to this information from parent reports, the Early Head Start programs reported that they increased home visit intensity to each family on average from two home visits a month in 1997 to three a month in 1999.7 These levels of completed home visits are generally consistent with the experiences of other home-visiting programs, which have found that on average, they are able to complete about half the intended number of home visits (Gomby 1999).
| Average Percentage of Families Who Received | Sample Sizes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Early Head Start Home Visits | More than One Early Head Start Home Visit | Early Head Start Home Visits at Least Weekly (1st Follow-Up Period) | Early Head Start Home Visits at Least Weekly (2nd Follow-Up Period) | Early Head Start Home Visits at Least Monthly (1st Follow-Up Period) | Early Head Start Home Visits at Least Monthly (2nd Follow-Up Period) | Among Families Who Received Home Visits, Percentage for Whom Typical Home Visit Lasted at Least One Hour | ||
| Full Sample | 85 | 75 | 43 | 35 | 65 | 56 | 82 | 820-1,138 |
| Program Approach in 1997 | ||||||||
| Center-based | 64 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 62 | 108-232 |
| Home-based | 92 | 89 | 57 | 52 | 84 | 75 | 84 | 429-537 |
| Mixed-approach | 90 | 86 | 54 | 38 | 74 | 63 | 91 | 283-369 |
| Pattern of Implementation | ||||||||
| Early implementers | 89 | 78 | 53 | 41 | 68 | 58 | 84 | 287-389 |
| Later implementers | 87 | 78 | 35 | 31 | 63 | 55 | 79 | 303-428 |
| Incomplete implementers | 77 | 67 | 42 | 31 | 62 | 54 | 84 | 219-319 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
completed an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: The percentages are average percentages across programs in the group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. |
The reported levels and intensity of completed home visits were very similar in the mixed-approach programs, which provided home-based services to most families. In these programs, 86 percent of families received more than one Early Head Start home visit by the time of the second followup. In addition, 54 percent of families, on average, reported receiving Early Head Start home visits at least weekly during the first follow-up period, and 38 percent reported receiving Early Head Start home visits at least weekly during the second (Table IX.2).
Most parents in home-based and mixed-approach programs who received Early Head Start home visits reported that a typical visit lasted from one to two hours (Table IX.2). The reported length of the typical visit did not change between the first and second follow-up periods.
Among the home-based and mixed-approach programs, earlier full implementation was associated with providing home visits to a higher percentage of families and providing weekly home visits to more families during the first two follow-up periods (Table IX.2). On average, in the home-based and mixed-approach programs that reached early full implementation, 93 percent of families reported receiving more than one Early Head Start home visit by the time of the second followup, and 78 percent reported receiving Early Head Start home visits at least weekly (not shown). In contrast, among later and incomplete implementers, 85 percent of families reported receiving more than one Early Head Start home visit, and 46 percent of families reported receiving Early Head Start home visits at least weekly.
3. Case Management
The revised Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs to work with parents to obtain needed services and useful resources, and all the research programs provide case management to link families with services and resources in the community. In some home-based programs, the home visitors who work with parents and children on child development also provide case management during home visits. In other home-based programs, each family has two home visitors, one who works with them on child development, the other on family development. In center-based programs, families may work with a designated staff person on family development during meetings at the center or at their home.
Home visits and case management services overlapped substantially. Most program families reported receiving both home visits and case management (71 percent in the first follow-up period and 56 percent in the second). More than 90 percent of these families reported that the person they met with for case management was the same person who visited them at home. Thus, not surprisingly, patterns of case management receipt mirror those of home visit receipt.
The average proportion of families who reported meeting with a case manager more than once was highest in home-based and mixed-approach programs (83 percent, on average, by the time of the second followup) and lowest in center-based programs (57 percent, on average, by the time of the second followup) (Table IX.3). Similarly, receipt of weekly case management was highest in the home-based programs and lowest in the center-based programs. Overall, nearly half the families, on average, reported receiving case management at least weekly during the first follow-up period, almost two-thirds at least monthly. Some programs, however, planned case management meetings less often than weekly. Some home-based programs provided child development services and case management in separate home visits, and case management meetings were planned on a less frequent schedule, often biweekly. Center-based programs also planned case management meetings less frequently, and families in center-based programs, not surprisingly, reported less-frequent receipt of case management.
| Average Percentage of Families Who Received: | Sample Sizes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Early Head Start Case Management Meetings | More than One Early Head Start Case Management Meeting | Early Head Start Case Management Meetings at Least Weekly (1st Follow-Up Period) | Early Head Start Case Management Meetings at Least Weekly (2nd Follow-Up Period) | Early Head Start Case Management Meetings at Least Monthly (1st Follow-Up Period) | Early Head Start Case Management Meetings at Least Monthly (2nd Follow-Up Period) | ||
| Full Sample | 81 | 77 | 44 | 34 | 65 | 52 | 1,067-1,137 |
| Program Approach in 1997 | |||||||
| Center-based | 66 | 57 | 17 | 8 | 38 | 24 | 228-234 |
| Home-based | 85 | 83 | 56 | 45 | 77 | 61 | 496-535 |
| Mixed-approach | 87 | 83 | 49 | 38 | 70 | 60 | 343-368 |
| Pattern of Implementation | |||||||
| Early implementer | 86 | 82 | 55 | 42 | 66 | 60 | 357-390 |
| Later implementers | 74 | 70 | 33 | 26 | 62 | 41 | 407-428 |
| Incomplete implementers | 82 | 79 | 46 | 33 | 68 | 56 | 298-319 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
completed an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: The percentages are average percentages across programs in the group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. |
Levels of case management receipt also tended to be highest, on average, in programs that became fully implemented early. For example, in the early-implemented programs, 82 percent of families, on average, received case management during their first 16 months in the program, compared with 70 percent of families in later-implemented programs and 79 percent in programs that were incomplete implementers (Table IX.3). The higher proportion among incomplete implementers reflects the emphasis some of the programs in this group placed on family support.
4. Parenting Information Services and Group Parenting Activities
The Early Head Start program guidelines specified that programs must provide parent education and parent-child activities. Consistent with their stated priority expected outcomes, programs offered a variety of services that would potentially achieve these outcomes.8 Most programs offering home-based services to some or all families invited families to regular group activities at least once a month. (The revised Head Start Program Performance Standards recommend two group socializations [parent-child group activities] per month for programs offering home-based services.) In center-based and mixed-approach programs, group parenting activities were more likely to be parent education meetings.
Although most group activities for parents focus exclusively on parenting, some focus more broadly. The interview excerpts in the following box show the increase over time in one parent’s interest in attending group meetings at the KCMC Early Head Start program in Kansas City, Missouri.
While most families (93 percent) received parenting information from Early Head Start, often during home visits (85 percent) or in discussions with case managers (82 percent), fewer received such information in Early Head Start group activities—parenting classes (45 percent), group parent-child activities (25 percent), and/or parent support groups (10 percent). Overall, slightly more than half of families, 53 percent on average, reported that they had attended any type of Early Head Start group activity by the time of the second followup (Table IX.4).
Program approaches differed in how parenting education was delivered. Participation in parenting classes or events was highest in center-based programs (51 percent in center-based programs compared with 43 to 44 percent in other programs). As would be expected, participation in parent-child group activities was highest in home-based and mixed-approach programs (27 and 28 percent, respectively, compared with 17 percent in center-based programs). Parents in home-based and mixed-approach programs also reported the highest levels of receiving parenting information during home visits (93 and 90 percent, respectively), discussing parenting with a case manager (90 and 86 percent), and receiving any parenting information from the program (95 and 96 percent). Ten percent of families, on average, had participated in a parent support group, with little variation across program approaches.
Success in implementing the performance standards was related to parent participation in parenting and other group activities. The programs that were fully implemented early achieved higher participation in any Early Head Start group activities than the later and incomplete implementers (Table IX.4). By the time of the second followup, nearly two-thirds of families in the early implementers had attended an Early Head Start group activity, compared with 44 percent of families in the later implementers and 52 percent in the incomplete implementers (Table IX.4). Parents in programs that became fully implemented early reported the highest levels of participation in all types of parenting education measured, compared with parents in the later and incomplete implementers. These differences are greatest for participation in parenting classes or events (56 percent in early implementers, compared with 34 and 45 percent in later and incomplete implementers, respectively), although parents in the early-implemented programs reported slightly higher rates of participation in any Early Head Start parent-child group activity and receiving parenting information during home visits (see Table IX.4).
| Average Percentage of Parents Who: | Sample Sizes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Received Any Parenting Information from Early Head Start | Participated in Any Early Head Start Group Activity(a) | Participated in Any Early Head Start Parenting Class or Event | Participated in Any Early Head Start Parent-Child Group Activity | Participated in Any Early Head Start Parent Support Group | Discussed Parenting with a Case Manager | Received Parenting Information During Home Visits | ||
| Full Sample | 93 | 53 | 45 | 25 | 10 | 82 | 85 | 1,118-1,136 |
| Program Approach in 1997 | ||||||||
| Center-based | 86 | 59 | 51 | 17 | 14 | 63 | 63 | 232-234 |
| Home-based | 95 | 51 | 43 | 27 | 7 | 90 | 93 | 524-537 |
| Mixed-approach | 96 | 52 | 42 | 28 | 10 | 86 | 90 | 362-365 |
| Pattern of Implementation | ||||||||
| Early implementers | 97 | 64 | 56 | 29 | 11 | 82 | 89 | 384-388 |
| Later implementers | 92 | 44 | 34 | 25 | 8 | 82 | 86 | 420-429 |
| Incomplete implementers | 90 | 52 | 45 | 21 | 10 | 82 | 79 | 314-319 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
completed an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: The percentages are average percentages across programs in the group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. |
Encouraging Parent Group
Participation: A Case Study
Kathy Thornburg, Jean Ispa, and Mark Fine University of Missouri at Columbia The following are excerpts from interviews that researchers at the University of Missouri at Columbia conducted with Lakeisha over a one-year period. In Interviews 2 and 3, Lakeisha is not interested in going to parent meetings, even if dinner and transportation are provided. By Interview 5, however, she is proudly attending the parent meetings and explains to the interviewers how the group chooses a secretary to help mothers get involved and feel connected.
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5. Child Care and Center-Based Child Development Services
Four of the research programs offered center-based child development services directly to all enrolled families. In addition, two programs provided center-based services directly to a substantial proportion of enrolled families, and four programs offered center-based child development services directly to a small number of families by fall 1999. Many programs also developed partnerships with community centers and family child care providers to provide good-quality child care to Early Head Start children.
a. Child Care Use
Levels of child care use were high across all three program types, and child care use increased over time as children got older. Two-thirds of children had received child care services by the time of the first followup (not shown). By the time of the second followup, when children were, on average, 20 months old, the percentage of program children who had received child care services increased to nearly 80 percent (Table IX.5).
The proportion of families who had ever used any center-based child care increased over time. One-third of all program children received care in child care centers during the first follow-up period (not shown). By the time of the second followup, the percentage of children who had been enrolled in center-based care increased to 43 percent (Table IX.5). The percentage of children who received Early Head Start center-based care increased from 22 to 25 percent (Table IX.5).
During the first two follow-up periods, many children received child care in more than one arrangement, and sometimes they received care in multiple arrangements concurrently. On average, children received child care in two different arrangements (Table IX.5). One-third of program children received care in multiple arrangements concurrently.
| Average Percentage of Families Whose Child Was | Sample Sizes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Any Child Care | In Any Center-Based Child Care | In Early Head Start Center-Based Care | In the Following Number of Child Care Arrangements: | Average Number of Arrangements | In More than One Arrangement Concurrently | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 or
more |
|||||||
| Full Sample | 79 | 43 | 25 | 21 | 34 | 25 | 21 | 2 | 34 | 1,063-1,097 |
| Program Approach in 1997 | ||||||||||
| Center-based | 90 | 75 | 70 | 10 | 36 | 26 | 29 | 2 | 48 | 218-234 |
| Home-based | 72 | 25 | 0 | 28 | 31 | 23 | 19 | 1 | 29 | 492-525 |
| Mixed-approach | 80 | 42 | 24 | 20 | 36 | 26 | 19 | 2 | 32 | 353-365 |
| Pattern of Implementation | ||||||||||
| Early implementers | 82 | 49 | 35 | 18 | 34 | 27 | 21 | 2 | 38 | 370-387 |
| Later implementers | 75 | 39 | 24 | 25 | 30 | 22 | 22 | 2 | 34 | 367-420 |
| Incomplete implementers | 82 | 39 | 17 | 18 | 38 | 25 | 18 | 1 | 31 | 319-339 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
conducted an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: Percentages are average percentages across programs in the given group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. |
Program families used a wide range of providers for their primary child care arrangement (the arrangement used for the most hours during the follow-up period) during the first 15 months after enrollment.9 One-third of all program families used center-based care for their primary child care arrangement—20 percent of families used an Early Head Start center and 14 percent used other child care centers (Table IX.6). Another one-third of families relied on a relative—most often a grandparent or great-grandparent—as their primary child care provider. Twelve percent of families used a nonrelative child care provider as their primary child care arrangement. Finally, 21 percent of families did not use any child care arrangements during the first 15 months after enrollment.
A substantial proportion of children received some child care from their primary provider during nonstandard work hours. Almost half the children received care from their primary child care provider during early morning hours. Twenty-seven percent received care during evenings. Smaller proportions received care during weekends and overnight (Table IX.6).
Families enrolled in the center-based programs were most likely to have used child care during the first two follow-up periods (90 percent), followed by families enrolled in mixed-approach programs (80 percent) and home-based programs (72 percent) (Table IX.5). Seventy percent of the families in the center-based programs received Early Head Start center-based care.
| All Programs | Center- Based Programs |
Home-Based Programs |
Mixed- Approach Programs |
Early Implementers |
Later Implementers |
Incomplete Implementers |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of children whose primary arrangement was: | |||||||
| No child care arrangement | 21 | 10 | 29 | 20 | 18 | 26 | 19 |
| Head Start/Early Head Start | 20 | 54 | 1 | 19 | 26 | 17 | 14 |
| Child care center | 14 | 6 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 16 |
| Nonrelative | 12 | 5 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| Parent or stepparent | 8 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 8 |
| Grandparent or great-grandparent | 18 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 16 |
| Another relative | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 6 |
| Parent at school or work | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Percentage of children whose primary arrangement included care during: | |||||||
| Evenings | 27 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 28 |
| Early mornings | 45 | 46 | 48 | 42 | 42 | 47 | 48 |
| Weekends | 16 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 20 |
| Overnight | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 13 |
| Sample Sizes | 970-1,079 | 207-220 | 431-499 | 332-360 | 330-367 | 337-371 | 300-336 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
conducted an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: Percentages are average percentages across programs in the group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. aThe primary child care arrangement is the arrangement in which the focus child received care for the most hours during the follow-up period.(back) |
The remaining 20 percent of families who received child care received it from other sources and did not use the Early Head Start center (Table IX.5). Many of these families are likely to be those who had dropped out of Early Head Start by the time of the second follow-up interview (but were still participating in the research).
In center-based programs, nearly half of children received care in concurrent arrangements (Table IX.5). This suggests that Early Head Start centers did not provide child care during all the hours that families needed care, and many families supplemented Early Head Start center care with secondary arrangements.
Families in programs that were early implementers were more likely than families in other programs to use center-based care and to use Early Head Start center-based care (Table IX.5).
This pattern of child care use reflects in part the fact that two out of the four center-based programs—those with the highest participation rates—were early implementers.
b. Intensity of Child Care Use
Many program children received child care for substantial amounts of time during the first 15 months after enrollment. On average, children received child care for 16 hours a week. One-third of program children were in child care for an average of 20 hours a week or more (Table IX.7). About half of these children—15 percent overall—attended center-based care for at least 20 hours a week, on average, during the first 15 months. Twelve percent attended Early Head Start centers for at least 20 hours a week, on average (Table IX.7).
Many program children were in child care arrangements during a large portion of the first 16 months after enrollment in Early Head Start. Approximately half the children received child care for at least 60 percent of the combined follow-up period (Table IX.8).
| All Programs | Center- Based Programs |
Home-Based Programs |
Mixed- Approach Programs |
Early Implementers |
Later Implementers |
Incomplete Implementers |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average hours per week in any child care | 16 | 25 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
| Percentage of children in any child care for | |||||||
| 0 hours per week, on average | 22 | 10 | 29 | 21 | 19 | 27 | 19 |
| 1-9 hours per week, on average | 28 | 21 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| 10-19 hours per week on average | 16 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 17 |
| 20-29 hours per week on average | 16 | 19 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 18 |
| 30+ hours per week on average | 18 | 36 | 10 | 17 | 22 | 15 | 18 |
| Average hours per week in any center-based care | 7 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 6 |
| Percentage of children in any center-based child care | 63 | 27 | 81 | 66 | 55 | 67 | 68 |
| 0 hours per week on average | |||||||
| 1-9 hours per week on average | 13 | 19 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 11 |
| 10-19 hours per week on average | 8 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| 20-29 hours per week on average | 7 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| 30+ hours per week on average | 8 | 24 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 6 |
| Average hours per week in Early Head center-Start based care | 5 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| Percentage of children in any Early Head Start center-based care | |||||||
| 0 hours per week on average | 77 | 32 | 100 | 79 | 67 | 79 | 85 |
| 1-9 hours per week on average | 7 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 10-19 hours per week on average | 5 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| 20-29 hours per week on average | 5 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| 30+ hours per week on average | 7 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 4 |
| Sample Sizes | 974-1071 | 193-225 | 396-499 | 273-347 | 335-365 | 343-405 | 298-324 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
conducted an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: Percentages are average percentages across programs in the group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. |
| All Programs | Center- Based Programs |
Home-Based Programs |
Mixed- Approach Programs |
Early Implementers |
Later Implementers |
Incomplete Implementers |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Period in Any Child Care | |||||||
| 0 percent | 21 | 10 | 29 | 2 | 18 | 26 | 19 |
| 1-19 percent | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 20-39 percent | 11 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| 40-59 percent | 13 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 11 |
| 60-79 percent | 12 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 15 |
| 80-99 percent | 19 | 30 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 17 | 18 |
| 100 percent | 21 | 32 | 19 | 16 | 21 | 19 | 25 |
| Percentage of Period in Any Center-Based Care | |||||||
| 0 percent | 59 | 26 | 77 | 60 | 52 | 62 | 63 |
| 1-19 percent | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 20-39 percent | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
| 40-59 percent | 7 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 |
| 60-79 percent | 6 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 80-99 percent | 11 | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 9 |
| 100 percent | 8 | 23 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| Percentage of Period in Early Head Start Center-Based Care | |||||||
| 0 percent | 75 | 30 | 100 | 76 | 66 | 77 | 83 |
| 1-19 percent | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 20-39 percent | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 40-59 percent | 4 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 60-79 percent | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 80-99 percent | 7 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 4 |
| 100 percent | 7 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 3 |
| Sample Sizes | 1,049-1,071 | 214-221 | 485-494 | 350-356 | 363-366 | 364-377 | 323-330 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
conducted an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: Percentages are average percentages across programs in the group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. |
As would be expected, children in center-based programs received more intensive child care services, on average, than children in home-based or mixed-approach programs. Over half of children in center-based programs received at least 20 hours of child care a week, on average, compared with one-third of children in mixed-approach programs and slightly less than one-quarter of children in home-based programs (Table IX.7). Nearly three-quarters of children in center-based programs received child care for at least 60 percent of the follow-up period, compared with half the children in mixed-approach programs and 42 percent in home-based programs (Table IX.8).
Children in programs that were early implementers received more hours of center-based child care and Early Head Start center-based care, on average, than children in other programs (Table IX.7). They were also more likely to receive care for the entire 15 months after enrollment (Table IX.8).
c. Child Care Costs
Three-fourths of families reported no out-of-pocket child care costs. Some families received free child care from relatives or an Early Head Start center, and some families received child care subsidies to cover the cost. One-quarter of all program families reported receiving a child care subsidy for any arrangement during the first 15 months after enrollment (Table IX.9). Eleven percent reported receiving a subsidy to pay for care in a center-based arrangement, and 6 percent reported receiving a subsidy for pay for care in an Early Head Start center.10
| All Programs | Center- Based Programs |
Home-Based Programs |
Mixed- Approach Programs |
Early Implementers |
Later Implementers |
Incomplete Implementers |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekly Out-Of-Pocket Child Care Costs For: | |||||||
| Any child care arrangement | $5.41 | $4.87 | $5.41 | $5.77 | $5.78 | $5.14 | $5.34 |
| Head Start/Early Head Start program | $0.54 | $1.81 | $0.00 | $0.33 | $0.60 | $0.40 | $0.00 |
| Other child care center | $3.31 | $5.50 | $2.23 | $3.12 | $4.02 | $1.70 | $2.79 |
| Nonrelative provider | $7.55 | $9.37 | $7.96 | $5.86 | $15.98 | $4.01 | $7.42 |
| Parent or stepparent | $0.06 | $0.00 | $0.15 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.18 |
| Grandparent or great-grandparent | $5.43 | $13.28 | $3.07 | $2.97 | $6.01 | $3.57 | $3.84 |
| Other relative | $3.22 | $5.93 | $3.19 | $1.46 | $3.29 | $5.54 | $2.82 |
| Percentage of Families Who Received a Subsidy To Pay For The Focus Child's Care in: | |||||||
| Any arrangement | 26 | 20 | 32 | 22 | 28 | 21 | 29 |
| A center-based arrangement | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 8 |
| An Early Head Start center-based arrangement | 6 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Sample Sizes | 727-1,122 | 155-234 | 285-523 | 244-365 | 233-384 | 265-420 | 228-318 |
| SOURCE: Parent Services Follow-Up Interviews
conducted an average of 7 and 16 months after enrollment.
NOTE: Percentages are average percentages across programs in the group and are weighted for survey nonresponse. |
On average, program families reported paying $5.41 per week out of pocket for child care during the first 15 months after enrollment (Table IX.9). The variation in child care costs was only slight across different types of programs.
6. Services for Children with Disabilities
According to the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards, at least 10 percent of programs’ caseloads must consist of children with identified disabilities.
By the time of the second followup, 5 percent of program families reported that their child had an identified disability (Table IX.10). The proportion of children with identified disabilities ranged from 0 to 13 percent across programs (not shown). The parents’ reports of identified disabilities may underreport them, however.11 It is also important to keep in mind that the follow-up interviews were conducted over a fairly long period (because enrollment in the research sample occurred over an approximately two-year period), during which the programs also served nonresearch families; thus these percentages do not necessarily reflect the percentage of children with identified disabilities served by the program at any given point in time.
Reported rates of identification of disabilities varied by program approach and degree of implementation. On average, center-based programs had the highest proportion of children with identified disabilities (6 percent), possibly as a result of increased opportunities for observing children in center-based settings. Parents in fully implemented programs were only slightly more likely (5 percent) to report that their children had identified disabilities and received early intervention services, but although the percentages are small, children in the early implementers were twice as likely to have received intervention services (4 versus 2 percent) (Table IX.10).