Resource Library

When combined with high quality early care and education, comprehensive services are intended to support families in their role as caregivers and foster the health and well-being of children. Connecting children and families to these services is a foundational feature of the Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) models. Partnerships between EHS and other early care and education settings hold promise for expanding access to comprehensive services for infants, toddlers, and their families...

Much like the 7.8 million families with young children in urban areas, many of the 1.1 million families with young children in rural areas need and use early care and education (ECE). Families across the United States face challenges accessing child care, and challenges often vary by population density. Although the definition of what constitutes an urban, suburban, and rural area differs across studies, the literature suggests that...

This report describes the research and evaluation activities undertaken by our Division of Child and Family Development in 2019. Brief project descriptions provide an overview of the range of projects conducted by the Division during the year in early childhood research, child care, Head Start and Early Head Start, child welfare, human trafficking, and cultural diversity.

Until recently, limited research has been available on home visiting staff or on the professional development system that supports them. In 2016, the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration, contracted with the Urban Institute to study the home visiting workforce in MIECHV-funded local implementing agencies (LIAs) to gather needed information...

The Behavioral Interventions Scholars (BIS) grant program supports dissertation research by advanced graduate students who are applying a behavioral science lens to specific research questions relevant to social services programs and policies and other issues facing low-income and vulnerable families in the United States. The third round of BIS grants was awarded in 2019 to three grantees.

Home visiting aims to support expectant parents and families with young children by offering them “resources and skills to raise children who are physically, socially, and emotionally healthy and ready to learn” (HRSA, 2019). Although the characteristics of the families served, and the service components delivered, vary by evidence-based home visiting model, problematic substance use is commonly one of the many outcome areas addressed by home visitors in the course of their engagement...

Home visiting aims to support expectant parents and families with young children by offering them “resources and skills to raise children who are physically, socially, and emotionally healthy and ready to learn” (HRSA, 2019). Although the characteristics of the families served, and the service components delivered, vary by evidence-based home visiting model, problematic substance use is commonly one of the many outcome areas addressed by home visitors in the course of their engagement...

The American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2015 (AI/AN FACES 2015) is the first national descriptive study of children and families enrolled in Head Start programs operated by federally recognized tribes. These programs incorporate communities’ unique histories, traditions, and beliefs into their operations. AI/AN FACES 2015 reflects advice from the AI/AN FACES Workgroup, comprising Region XI Head Start directors, researchers, and federal officials.

In September 2019, OPRE awarded eleven new Child Care Policy Research Partnership (CCPRP) Grants. The CCPRP Grant Program supports active collaborations between state Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agencies and researchers to investigate questions of immediate relevance to local and national child care policies and practices. These four-year cooperative agreements are expected to add to our knowledge about the efficacy of child care subsidy policies...

The 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) is a coordinated set of four nationally representative surveys aimed at describing the early care and education (ECE) landscape in the United States, including the use and availability of care. Information was collected from individuals and programs providing ECE in center-based and home-based settings to children age birth through five years, and from households with children under age 13...