Early Head Start

Early Head Start is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with pregnant women, infants, and toddlers up to age 3. It is a program that came out of the Head Start Program. The program was designed in 1994 by an Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers formed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. "In addition to providing or linking families with needed services—medical, mental health, nutrition, and education—Early Head Start can provide a place for children to experience consistent, nurturing relationships and stable, ongoing routines." Early Head Start Programs offer three different options and programs may offer one or more to families. The three options are: a home-based option, a center-based option, or a combination option in which families get a set number of home visits and a set number of center-based experiences, There are also locally designed options, which in some communities include family child care.

Read more about Early Head Start:  Mission Statement, Important Areas of The Early Head Start Program, Eligibility For The Program, Early Head Start Research and Evaluation (EHSRE) Project 2006-2010, Supportive Findings For Children’s Development, Mixed Findings For Children’s Development, Supportive Findings For Parenting and The Home Environment

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