Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES), 2007-2020
Project Overview
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. Building on the findings from the Survey of Early Head Start Programs, and similar in design to the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), Baby FACES aims to inform program planning, technical assistance, and research at the national level by:
- Providing descriptive information about the quality, frequency, and intensity of Early Head Start services;
- Describing the characteristics, qualifications, and professional supports provided to staff working with Early Head Start families;
- Identifying key characteristics, strengths, and needs of families served in Early Head Start;
- Learning how Early Head Start children and families are faring in key areas of child and family well-being; and
- Exploring associations between the type and quality of Early Head Start services and child and family well-being.
In 2007, a contract was awarded to Mathematica Policy Research to design and conduct the first Baby FACES. The study employed a longitudinal cohort design with a representative sample of 89 Early Head Start programs in 2009. It followed approximately 1,000 children in two age cohorts: (1) a perinatal group of pregnant mothers or newborn children under 3 months of age in Spring 2009, and (2) a group of infants about 1 year old in Spring 2009. Data were collected annually, in the spring, until children left or aged out of the program (at age 3) through annual interviews with parents, teachers, home visitors, and program directors; direct child assessments; video-recorded parent-child and assessor-child interactions; and weekly service logs.
In 2015, a contract was awarded to Mathematica Policy Research to build on and extend the lessons learned from Baby FACES 2009 with a new round of the study. The second round of Baby FACES aims to meet the same overall goals as the first round, as well as to address some methodological constraints in Baby FACES 2009. Specifically, the new Baby FACES will use a repeated cross-sectional research design with a nationally representative sample of programs, centers, classrooms, home visitors, and children of all age groups enrolled in Early Head Start. Data collection will occur in the Spring of 2018 and Spring of 2020. It will include interviews with parents, teachers, home visitors, center directors, and program directors; assessment of children’s development via parent- and staff-report; assessment of parent-child relationship quality (via parent-report in 2018, observation in 2020); in depth observational assessments of Early Head Start center-based service quality (in 2018); and in depth observational assessments of Early Head Start home-based service quality (in 2020).
The point of contact for this project is Amy Madigan.
