Head Start's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Explore OPRE’s study about Head Start’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on a national survey of Head Start grantees, interviews with Regional Program Managers and Head Start Collaboration Office Directors as well as interviews with program directors, teachers, and family service workers.

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  • Published: 2023

Introduction

Research Questions

  1. How are Head Start and Early Head Start grantees using funds to support their services, and how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected their use of funds?
  2. To what extent have grantees had to make staffing changes as a result of funding or administrative changes?
  3. To what extent are grantees using the funding and administrative flexibilities granted by OHS?
  4. To what extent have other funding sources provided funding, administrative, or other regulatory flexibilities?
  5. What challenges are Head Start and Early Head Start grantees facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
  6. How are Head Start grantees planning for the future?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, child care and early education (CCEE) providers have navigated various challenges and responded to families’ changing needs. CCEE providers taught virtually, and many parents facilitated their children’s virtual or at-home learning while also working from home. Head Start and Early Head Start programs strived to continue to provide much-needed services to enrolled families with as few disruptions as possible. In March 2020, Head Start and Early Head Start grantees had to quickly adjust to meet new public health requirements put in place by the Office of Head Start (OHS) as well as mandates from governors and state agencies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) and the Office of Head Start (OHS) collaborated to conduct this research to describe Head Start’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including supports they received, challenges they faced, and changes they made.

Purpose

The purpose of this brief is to describe how Head Start responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the challenges grantees faced, how they pivoted to address these challenges, and the supports they received from the OHS to serve the children and families in their care.

The study findings can inform the field, help federal and state leaders develop or refine future supports for Head Start grantees, and guide future research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the CCEE system.

Key Findings and Highlights

A few findings are highlighted below.

  • Interviews with Regional Program Managers (RPMs) and Head Start Collaboration Office (HSCO) Directors highlighted several challenges grantees faced during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges included: staffing, family engagement and support, remote learning or general service delivery, and meeting COVID-19 pandemic health and safety guidelines.
  • In surveys, Head Start grantees reported these major challenges:
    • 73% reported challenges with providing remote support to families because families did not have reliable technologies or internet services;
    • 63% reported challenges with finding and hiring new staff who are qualified to teach and care for children; and
    • 46% reported challenges associated with creating new policies to meet local, state, and federal health guidelines.
  • Head Start directors, teachers, and family service workers all contributed to ensuring the needs of families were met during the COVID-19 pandemic by organizing deliveries of food and other necessities to families—even on weekends or when their centers were closed—soliciting technology and Wi-Fi hotspot donations from community members to supply to families, and connecting families with additional resources outside of Head Start.

Methods

The team gathered data in three phases:

Phase 1. Qualitative interviews with a sample of RPM and HSCO Directors

Phase 2. National survey of center-based Head Start and Early Head Start grantees and delegate agencies that provide direct services

Phase 3. Case study interviews with program directors, family service workers, and teachers at select center-based Head Start programs

Related Documents

Citation

Shaw, S., Franchett, A., LaForett, D., Maxwell, K., Bultinck, E. (2023). Head Start’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. OPRE Report #2023-025. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Glossary

Grantee:
Agency granted financial assistance to operate a Head Start and/or Early Head Start program
Head Start (HS):
Program services for children ages 3 to 5 and their families, with the goal of increasing school readiness of young children in families with low incomes
Head Start Collaboration Office (HSCO):
Facilitates partnerships between Head Start agencies and state entities to foster collaboration and coordination of services to contribute to positive outcomes for children and families
Office of Head Start (OHS):
Administers Head Start and Early Head Start program within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Regional Program Manager (RPM):
Oversees day-to-day management of Head Start grantees and the provision of technical assistance within their multi-state region