2. When was the program started? Head Start began in 1965 and was later updated by the Head Start Act of 1981. It went through its most intense revisions in its latest re-authorization in December, 2007. It is the longest-running program to address systemic poverty in the United States.
3. Why is there a need for the program? Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. Head Start was started as part of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. The Office of Economic Opportunity's Community Action Program launched Project Head Start as an eight-week summer program in 1965. The project was designed to help end poverty by providing preschool children from low-income families with a program that would meet emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. Those individuals living below the poverty threshold experience food insecurity and hunger at over three times the national average.
4. Who is served by the program? The poor The working poor The young Low income women Ethnic minorities Inner-city and rural dwellers
5. What are the criteria for receiving service? Eligibility for Head Start services is income-based (100% of the federal poverty level), though each locally-operated program includes other eligibility criteria such as disabilities and services to other family members. Up to 10% of any funded program's enrollment can be from over-income families or families experiencing emergency situations With the latest Head Start Act there was a provision to offer an option to serve children from 100 to 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. All programs are required to provide full services to children with disabilities (10% of their total enrollment).
6. What types of assistance does the program provide? (I) Programs Break down Early Head Start – Promotes healthy prenatal outcomes, promotes healthy family the development of infants and toddlers beginning as young as newborn infants. Head Start – Helps to create healthy development in low-income children ages three to five. Programs offer a wide variety of services, that depend on a child's and each family's heritage and experience, to influence all aspects of a child's development and learning. Migrant and Seasonal Program Branch – Provides Head Start services to children of migrant and seasonal farm workers who meet income and other eligibility guidelines. Services are for children from six-months to five-years of age. Because of the nature of the work done by the families, the hours of services are longer and the length of program is shorter (fewer months) than traditional Head Start services. American Indian-Alaska Native Program Branch – Provides American Indian and Alaska Native children and families with services such as: health care, educational, nutritional, socialization, as well as other services promoting school readiness. Services are primarily for disadvantaged preschool children, and infants and toddlers
7. What types of assistance does the program provide? (II) Head Start programs promote school readiness by enhancing : The social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families. They engage parents in their children's learning and help them in making progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals. Significant emphasis is placed on the involvement of parents in the administration of local Head Start programs.
8. What types of assistance does the program provide? (III) Nutrition Performance Standards: Grantee and delegate agencies must design and implement a nutrition program that meets the nutritional needs and feeding requirements of each child, including those with special dietary needs and children with disabilities. Also, the nutrition program must serve a variety of foods which consider cultural and ethnic preferences and which broaden the child's food experience Each child in a part-day center-based setting must receive meals and snacks that provide at least 1/3 of the child's daily nutritional needs. Each child in a center-based full-day program must receive meals and snacks that provide ½ to 2/3 of the child's daily nutritional needs, depending upon the length of the program day.
9. What types of assistance does the program provide? (IV) Nutrition Continued… For 3- to 5-year-olds in center-based settings, the quantities and kinds of food served must conform to recommended serving sizes and minimum standards for meal patterns recommended in the USDA meal pattern or nutrient standard menu planning requirements All children in morning center-based settings who have not received breakfast at the time they arrive at the Early Head Start or Head Start program must be served a nourishing breakfast.
10. How is the program funded? The Head Start Act authorizes the appropriation of federal funds at specific levels and the methodology for allocating funds to the various functions of the program. The Act outlines the intent of the Congress for the program, the types of services provided, the population served, reporting and evaluation requirements, and administrative requirements. Programs are administered locally by non-profit organizations and local education agencies such as school systems. $6,888,363,725 was spent in 2007.
11. What role(s) do nutrition professionals play in this program? (I) Participate in menu planning and review and take steps to assure a high quality food program that incorporates ethnic foods and menus. Ensure that foods served are high in nutrients and low in fat, sugar and salt. Ensure that meal and snack periods in the centers/classrooms are appropriately scheduled and adjusted when necessary to ensure that the children’s nutritional needs are met. Ensure that the nutrition program serves a variety of foods which consider cultural and ethnic preferences and which broaden each child’s food experience. Ensure that medically based diets or other dietary requirements are accommodated.
12. What role(s) do nutrition professionals play in this program? (II) Assess the nutritional status and special needs of children and their families using information provided by the family and from the health records, discussions with the nurse, physician dentist, and from knowledge of community nutrition problems. Identify each child’s nutritional needs, taking into account relevant nutrition related assessment data (height, weight, hemoglobin/hematocrit). Obtain information about each child’s eating patterns and cultural preferences, special dietary requirements for each child with nutrition-related health problems and feeding requirements for children with disabilities. Provide nutrition counseling, education and training for parents, and help parents and staff formulate plans for the Head Start nutrition program.
13. How does one contact the program to receive service? Online: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/HeadStartOffices Phone: 1-866-763-6481 Directly through local agencies such as schools, day-cares, and early learning centers providing the service.
14. What initiatives or promotional activities are currently going on to increase participation in or education about the program An important update to the Head Start re-authorization signed by President Bush on December 12, 2007 is the importance of Head Start to serve the homeless children in America On July 11, 2006, the Office of Head Start announced the launch of the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC). The ECLKC offers information, knowledge and learning to Head Start programs and the early childhood community in an easy-to-use format. Obesity Prevention initiatives started in 2007
15. What else should we know about the program? Head start continues to monitor its participants and continue research to monitor its effectiveness in the community. According to Datta, who summarized 31 studies, the program showed immediate improvement in the IQ scores of participating children, though after beginning school, the non-participants were able to narrow the difference. Children who attended Head Start are, relative to their siblings who did not, significantly more likely to complete high school, attend college, and possibly have higher earnings in their early twenties. They are less likely to have been booked or charged with a crime. Head Start is associated with large and significant gains in test scores. Head Start significantly reduces the probability that a child will repeat a grade.Recent criticisms of Project Head Start have resulted in plans to improve program services and to expand in a more thoughtful manner to make the program more responsive to the needs of children and
16. Thank you! Resources: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/legislation/index.html http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/index.html Janet Currie and Duncan Thomas The American Economic Review, Vol. 85, No. 3 (Jun., 1995), pp. 341-364 http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/04/20090402a.html http://www.caheadstart.org/HeadStartHistory.pdf
