BOX IV.1

RETAINING FAMILIES IN EARLY HEAD START

As part of Early Head Start efforts to positively affect children and families, keeping families involved and fully participating is a key program goal. We use site visit data to describe the types of families who tend to drop out of the program and why they drop out, as well as strategies programs employ to retain families.

In several of the sites we visited, programs report that families who drop out tend to be those at the highest risk and most in need of services. Staff in several sites report that families at highest risk of dropping out are those with multiple risk factors. In addition to being less able to comply with program participation requirements, they are also more likely to move frequently, often suddenly. Common risk factors that tend to go along with dropping out are being a single mother, having substance abuse problems, being in a housing crisis or homeless, having multiple children, and having mental health issues. Families with multiple risk factors may also be hardest to serve effectively; the Early Head Start evaluation showed the most short-term benefits for families at moderate risk and little benefit for those at highest risk (ACYF 2002). However, newer findings at prekindergarten show that positive impacts also emerged for the highest-risk group about two years after the end of the program (ACF 2006).

Challenges to program participation include work schedules, lack of transportation, moving out of the service area, and extended visits to countries of origin. Apart from the highest-risk groups, staff cited several barriers to full participation. Families without access to reliable transportation cannot get children to the program and pick them up when required (especially if programs end early and do not align with parents’ work schedules). Weather is a problem, particularly in the winter in one midwestern program. Programs we visited that enroll immigrant families sometimes drop them when they leave for months at a time to visit their home countries. Many of the programs we visited report that a subset of families would, for a variety of these reasons, cycle in and out of the program—enrolling, leaving or being dropped, returning to the waiting list, then reenrolling. When deciding how to handle nonparticipation, programs must balance their mission to serve families, funding regulations (subsidy payments often require children’s attendance), and long waiting lists of unserved families. Programs we visited vary in their attendance policies, both in the specificity of the policies and in their enforcement. Although only 7 percent of programs in the survey report saving slots for families who become inactive, many of the programs we visited indicate that they make concerted efforts to contact and reengage families before dropping them from the rolls. A few programs first attempt to change the program option (for example, center-based to home-based) in an effort to retain families. In some programs, slots can be kept open for as long as three or four weeks for families that staff expect will return. In others, slots are filled quickly, in as little as 7 to 10 days. No programs report that the size of the waiting list influences them when deciding whether to drop a noncompliant family.

BOX IV.2

INVOLVING PARENTS IN EARLY HEAD START DECISION-MAKING AND PROGRAM OPERATIONS

In this text box, we discuss programs’ efforts to involve parents in program activities, operations, and decision-making. We also describe parents’ impressions of and satisfaction with programs. We base our discussion on interview data from programs selected for site visits. We focus on parent involvement because the performance measures consider their involvement in program activities and planning essential for ensuring program quality. While programs and children benefit from the active involvement of parents, parents themselves also benefit, mainly through increased self-confidence as a parent and an advocate for their child.

Programs are successful at involving parents in program operations and decision-making. All 17 programs selected for site visits had Early Head Start parents involved in the required Policy Council or other parent committees. Such involvement provides opportunities to engage in many activities, including participating in hiring decisions and interviews, making budget and fundraising decisions, making decisions regarding curriculum and child assessments, and generating ideas for program activities. Many programs also involve parents in the community- and self-assessment process, with parents providing written and oral feedback on program activities and needs.

Programs also strive to involve parents in day-to-day program activities, services, and activities for their children. For example, classroom teachers and home visitors often involve parents in the assessment and screening process. Parents also provide input on planned services for their child, particularly if the child has a disability. Parents are encouraged to spend time and/or volunteer in the classroom, assisting with activities, completing administrative tasks, or helping during meals or playtime. They also participate in fundraising and special program events like parties and field trips.

Parents who formally participate in the program and in parent committees benefit from this involvement. For example, in focus groups, some parents suggested that the confidence they gained from involvement with the Policy Council or committees allowed them to focus on accomplishing goals for themselves, such as furthering their education, pursuing a GED, or finding employment. Some programs encourage parent involvement by providing training opportunities to parent committee members. For instance, one program indicates that parents receive training in job interviewing skills. Another offers opportunities for parents to attend conferences, while another pays for the cost of parents to take child care courses to become licensed child care providers. Notably, many programs indicate that several of their current Head Start and Early Head Start staff members are former program parents. Thus, as intended by the framers of Head Start (Zigler and Muenchow 1992), involvement in programs may provide parents a springboard for future employment.

Some programs face challenges in making parents aware of opportunities for involvement and making activities and meetings accessible to working parents. During site visit interviews, parents at one program revealed that they are interested in being more involved in the Policy Council and related parent committees, but they are uncertain about how to become involved. This may reflect the difficulty this program has in drawing awareness to the diversity of opportunities it provides for parent involvement. More commonly, during site visits, programs acknowledged difficulties in getting parents involved in committees because of their competing work schedules and the need to balance work with the demands of parenthood.

Programs respond in many ways to challenges in involving parents. For example, during site visit interviews, some programs reported holding meetings in the evenings, paying for child care and mileage, and providing meals to participating parents. In general, programs try to accommodate parent schedules as much as possible. Other programs offer incentives like door prizes, books for children, and points that can be used to purchase items like diapers and formula from the program’s pantry. Programs also ensure that materials and activities are available in English and Spanish so that parents feel encouraged to attend. One program also reports having parent committee members recruit new parents, so that parents can hear directly from other parents about the benefits of involvement.

Parents appreciate having relationships and interaction with staff. During focus groups, parents spoke about Early Head Start’s emphasis on serving the entire family. This emphasis is shown by programs’ efforts at ongoing communication with parents, involving them in home-visiting activities and parent-teacher conferences, and sending home written materials. In particular, having a voice in their children’s development and Early Head Start experience is important to families. Many parents we spoke with report satisfaction in their relationship with teachers/home visitors and state that these are people they can trust. They appreciate the respect and concern staff members provide to them and their children. In addition, the general level of support provided by staff to parents for other issues is important to families. For example, one parent described an instance in which her child’s teacher called home to check on the child, who had been sick for several days. Another appreciated the support a home visitor provided to her during an ordeal in court.

BOX IV.3

INVOLVING FATHERS IN EARLY HEAD START

Early Head Start has actively supported father involvement, most recently through a demonstration that explored ways to engage dads (Bellotti et al. 2003). Accordingly, in addition to performance measures that call for active parent involvement in Early Head Start (both in decision-making and in participation), one performance measure addresses father involvement—specifically, that programs should encourage and support fathers’ involvement in program planning, decision-making, and activities. Site visit data provide information about barriers to father involvement and strategies programs use to overcome them.

Among the 17 programs we visited, all but 2 indicate that they hold special events aimed at involving fathers in the program. The substance of the events varies widely but most often includes activities to appeal to men, such as sporting events (attending baseball games, fishing, or bowling) or picnic/party types of activities (such as “Donuts for Dads” or Fathers’ Day parties). Often, picnic/party activities include the entire family.

Father participation in program activities is low to moderate. Despite the efforts that many programs make to appeal to fathers, most programs we visited report limited father participation. Some programs have fathers doing dropoff or pickup of children from centers, and others say that some fathers participate in parent meetings. A few programs we visited indicated that one or more fathers participate in the Policy Council. Some of the challenges and barriers that program staff identify as important are consistent across programs. The leading barrier is fathers’ daytime work schedules. Father-mother conflict, domestic violence, and parental attitudes about the mother’s role as primary caregiver are also responsible for limited father involvement in several programs. Other factors—incarceration, homelessness, and high-risk behaviors such as drug dealing and substance abuse—are problematic in a few places as well.

Programs employ a range of strategies to address barriers to participation. A few programs address conflicts with fathers’ work schedules by scheduling home visits, socializations, or other events in the late afternoon so that fathers can attend. Most programs rely on a range of other strategies, including making centers more father friendly by hanging father-related posters, actively encouraging and positively reinforcing any father participation (such as during dropoff or pickup), and hiring male staff to model caregiving.

To encourage participation at special events, some programs provide door prizes or other gifts, as well as transportation or child care. A couple of programs encourage leadership from fathers by asking involved Early Head Start fathers to bring other fathers with them or by having dads organize events themselves.

Programs provide special training for staff about fathers. One program we visited offers a parent training course for fathers each year (with one meeting a week for six weeks). Other visited programs report they use curricula (such as “24/7 Dad”) to inform their staff training and father activities.

BOX IV.4

TRANSITIONS FROM EARLY HEAD START TO PRESCHOOL

We focus here on how programs facilitate children’s transitions from the Early Head Start program to Head Start or another preschool program. A smooth transition is optimal for children’s well-being; in recognition of this, one of the performance measures identifies smooth transitions as a key element of Early Head Start services. Making these transitions seamless is also a requirement of the program performance standards. We use data from site visits to describe transition plans, challenges to smooth transitions, and ways that programs address these challenges.

Of the 17 programs that we visited, 11 report that they develop transition plans for most of their children. We cannot tell from the survey why some children do not receive transition plans, although it may be a result of families’ leaving before the children reach the end of their eligibility. As part of the transition process, some programs have group meetings twice a year for parents whose children will be aging out of the program in the following six months. Other programs have individual meetings with parents, usually when the child reaches age 2½. These meetings include a variety of staff members, such as family advocates, teachers, home visitors, and/or education coordinators. At the meetings, they discuss child care options and next steps for both the family and staff.

All Early Head Start programs we visited have formal transition processes for children moving into Head Start programs. Some programs have transition rooms for children between ages 2½ and 3½. These classrooms are geared toward children who are ready to move out of the toddler room but are not yet ready for preschool. The children are exposed to preschool routines, and Head Start teachers visit the transition rooms to become acquainted with the children. Programs that do not have transition rooms introduce the children to Head Start staff, and some make trips to Head Start classrooms to help children become familiar with their new environment.

Programs deal with a variety of challenges transitioning children to preschool. In developing formal transition plans, programs commonly deal with issues of income documentation and age restrictions for children entering Head Start programs. One program described a frustrating situation in which Early Head Start helped parents obtain a better job, but family income then rose above the threshold for Head Start eligibility. In such situations, staff members feel that although parents have made progress, they still need many of the services that Head Start can provide. Some programs offer priority to Early Head Start children for entering the Head Start program; however, because programs are required to serve the neediest families, they cannot always make such accommodations. If an area lacks a preschool Head Start program, the possibility of service gaps increases. Some programs will serve children through age 3 so that they can transfer to Head Start at age 4. Other challenges for transitioning include accessibility of available slots. In rural areas, finding transportation to Head Start programs can be a challenge, and even urban programs report difficulties finding available slots in the right neighborhoods.

Although the transition from Early Head Start to Head Start is not automatic, the children who make the transition most often experience it as a seamless process. The programs we visited try to help children adjust to their new classrooms and teachers, in addition to helping parents adjust to new staff and different procedures. Program staff also help parents by filling out the paperwork, checking on immunizations, and identifying other requirements.

Programs help parents and children make a smooth transition to non-Head Start preschool programs. When families do not qualify for Head Start services, program staff work to find affordable alternative options for them. Programs refer parents to local resources, such as child care resource and referral agencies, and most programs we visited provide parents with guidance on selecting a child care provider. Sometimes staff visit child care centers with parents to help them evaluate the quality of the centers.