
Introduction
Research Questions
- What challenges did children and families in the 2021–2022 Study experience in late 2021 and early 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- What was the well-being of children and families in the 2021–2022 Study in late 2021 and early 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- What supports did children and families in the 2021–2022 Study receive or need in late 2021 and early 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How are challenges and supports during the COVID-19 pandemic associated with the well-being of children and families in the 2021–2022 Study?
This brief examines the challenges Head Start children and their families faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the types of support they received or needed, and how both were associated with their well-being. This research brief draws on data collected from October 2021 to January 2022 as part of the 2021—2022 Study of Family and Staff Well-Being in Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey Programs (the 2021—2022 Study).
The findings shed light on children’s and families’ well-being and can inform which resources families found most helpful, which supports programs could build on, and areas where more support may be needed.
Purpose
The purpose of this brief is to investigate child and family well-being in association with factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although prior work has investigated the impact of pandemic-related challenges on families’ well-being generally, this brief discusses challenges experienced, supports used, and well-being specifically among Head Start families. Findings can provide information to policy makers and program leaders about how challenges and supports related to the pandemic were associated with Head Start children’s and family’s well-being and illustrate potential areas for programmatic support.
Key Findings and Highlights
Some parents faced challenges in late 2021 and early 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their employment status changed, their household income decreased, and they observed negative impacts on their own mental health and their children’s behavior.
- For the majority of parents, the pandemic changed their work situation. Of those who experienced changes, just over one-third worked fewer hours, lost their job, or were furloughed.
- Almost half of parents noted their household income (including money from jobs, public assistance programs, and other sources, but not government stimulus payments) had decreased either somewhat or very much during the pandemic.
- One-third of parents reported greater parenting stress and more anxiety than they had before the pandemic.
- Almost half of parents noted some negative changes in their child’s behavior since the start of the pandemic, for example, reporting their children were acting out or having tantrums more often.
Parents and children were resilient in the face of these challenges. Many parents reported good physical health. Almost all of them had positive relationships with their children, and the majority maintained regular household routines.
- The majority of parents reported good overall health for themselves and for their children.
- Almost all parents reported having positive relationships with their child. More than half of parents said they ate dinner with their family every night of the week and read to their child three or more times a week.
Families received and used government, social, and community supports in late 2021 and early 2022.
- Almost all parents reported that their household received a government stimulus payment.
- The majority of parents noted they had access to social supports—a place to stay, food, or emergency cash—when they needed them.
- The majority of parents used at least one strategy outside their regular child care arrangements to meet their child care needs. More than half relied on families or friends to provide child care on occasion.
Some challenges parents faced were significantly associated with family well-being outcomes. Only one of these challenges was buffered by families’ receipt of supports.
- Parents who reported lacking or needing more referrals to counseling or mental health services were also more likely to report depressive symptoms and greater anxiety.
- The association between lacking or needing more referrals to counseling or mental health services and depressive symptoms and greater anxiety was not mitigated by accounting for other supports received by families.
- Parents who reported lacking or needing more referrals to medical, dental, or orthodontic care were also more likely to report greater household financial strain.
- The association between lacking referrals to medical, dental, or orthodontic care and greater household financial strain was mitigated by accounting for other supports received by families.
No challenges were associated with outcomes reflecting children’s well-being.
Methods
For the 2021—2022 Study, we aimed to recruit a nationally representative sample of Head Start programs and children. However, given lower-than-expected participation and response rates, we do not recommend assuming the resulting sample is nationally representative.
Findings from this brief draw on data from the fall 2021 parent survey and teacher child reports. To address Research Questions 1, 2, and 3 we estimated means, standard deviations, and percentages to describe the well-being of children and families, the challenges they experienced during the pandemic, and the supports they had or needed during the pandemic. To address Research Question 4, we examined a set of challenges (including family health impacts from COVID-19 and community supports families may have needed) and supports (including receipt of stimulus payment since the start of the pandemic, parents’ social supports, and child care strategies outside of regular arrangements) families had during the pandemic. Using a stepwise series of regression analyses, we looked at the association of these challenges and supports with eight outcomes reflecting family well-being (including parent depressive symptoms, parent anxiety, parenting warmth, and household financial strain) and children’s well-being (including scores on social skills, problem behaviors, approaches to learning, and literacy skills).
Appendix
Appendix
File Type | File Name | File Size | Head Start Child and Family Well-Being in the Context of COVID-19: Technical Appendix | 12,645.65 KB |
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Citation
Litkowski, Ellen, Rhiannon Jones, Xiaofan Sun, Louisa Tarullo, and Sara Bernstein. (2024). “Head Start Child and Family Well-Being in the Context of COVID-19.” OPRE Report #2024-278. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- FACES:
- Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey
- COVID-19, or coronavirus disease 19:
- An infectious disease that was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and a public health emergency by the U.S. in March 2020.