Early Head Start
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Since the program was first authorized in 1994, Early Head Start research has examined the program’s implementation, its impacts on children and families, and a variety of special topics such as infant and toddler mental health, fatherhood and child welfare. With a particular focus on partnerships between the research community and local programs and the Office of Head Start, the results of this body of research help to identify and build on program strengths, continuously refine and improve practices, and promote healthy growth and development of low-income children.
Projects on this Topic
An Exploratory Study: Implications of Immigration Enforcement Activities for the Well-Being of Children in Immigrant Families, 2012-2014
The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), in collaboration with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has initiated this project to explore...
Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS), 2010-2014
The purpose of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is to explore the application of behavioral economics principles to the programs and target populations of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF)...
Child Care and Early Education RESEARCH CONNECTIONS, 1998-2013
Research Connections is a web-based, interactive database of research documents and public use data sets for conducting secondary analyses on topics related to early care and education...
Development of a Measure of Family-Provider Relationship Quality (FPRQ), 2010-2014
The goal of the FPRQ project is to develop a new measure to assess the quality of the relationship between families and providers of early care and education for children birth to 5 years of age...
Development of a Measure of the Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions for Infants and Toddlers (Q-CCIIT), 2010-2013
The goal of this project is to develop a new measure that will assess the quality of child care settings, specifically the quality of caregiver-child interactions for infants and toddlers in non-parental care. The new measure will be sensitive to...
Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES), 2007-2014
The Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES) continues a series of ongoing descriptive studies aimed at maintaining an up-to-date, extensive knowledge base to support Early Head Start policies and programs...
Early Head Start University Partnership Grants: Buffering Children from Toxic Stress, 2011-2016
Research over the past decade has produced increasingly compelling evidence about the detrimental effects of stress on neurobiological development, and some researchers have posited that the multiple and chronic stressors that are associated with...
Evaluation of the Head Start Designation Renewal System (DRS), 2012-2015
In the fall of 2011, the Office of Head Start (OHS) significantly expanded its accountability provisions with the establishment of the Head Start Designation Renewal System (DRS). In response to requirements in the Improving Head Start for School...
Head Start Family Voices Pilot Study, 2012-2014
The purpose of this study is to help the Administration for Children and Families better understand the experiences and perspectives of families and staff participating in Head Start and Early Head Start, particularly around the topic of family...
Head Start Graduate Student Research Program, 1998-2013
The Head Start Graduate Student Research grant program is designed to build research capacity in and knowledge of effective early childhood interventions with low-income children and families. The grant program does this by providing support for...
National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE), 2010-2014
The National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) will document the nation's current utilization and availability of early care and education (including school-age care), in order to deepen the understanding of the extent to which...
Study on the Status of Dual Language Learners in Head Start and Early Head Start Programs, 2008-2012
In response to a requirement in the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-134), ACF initiated this project in 2008 to develop a report on limited English proficient (LEP) children and their families participating in Head Start...
Tracking of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP) Sample, 2012-2018
The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP) is a longitudinal impact evaluation of the Early Head Start program initiated in 1996, at the same time that the Early Head Start program was created. Child and family assessments were...
Early Head Start Program Performance Measures, 2001-2003
As a national laboratory for early childhood education, Head Start has long emphasized continuous program improvement and has been a leader in developing outcome-oriented accountability. Head Start began developing program performance measures in 1995,...
Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSRE), 1996-2010
The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project, a rigorous, large-scale, random-assignment evaluation of Early Head Start, was designed to carry out the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers...
Early Head Start Research to Practice, 2003-Current
This web page pulls together research briefs from across Early Head Start research projects. Information includes findings on the implementation of programs, program impacts on children and families, and other information on special topics...
Early Promotion and Intervention Research Consortium (E-PIRC), 2002-2006
The Head Start Bureau and the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation announced the award of five cooperative agreements in September 2002 as part of the Early Promotion and Intervention Research Consortium (E-PIRC). These four-year grants funded...
Infant Mental Health, 2000-2001
On October 23 and 24, 2000, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) convened the Infant Mental Health Forum in Washington, DC. ACYF undertook the planning of the Infant Mental Health Forum in response to questions from program staff...
Survey of Early Head Start Programs, 2003-2008
Ever since the inception of Early Head Start, research has been an integral part of the program. At the same time the first Early Head Start programs began operating, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) initiated an evaluation...
