Early Head Start: What Can We Learn to Make a Difference for Children and Families?

For more than 25 years, Early Head Start has worked to provide an enriched experience for young children during the critical early years of life when brain development occurs at an unparalleled pace. Despite this proven success, only 8 percent of children who are eligible for this program are enrolled.

During the January 7, 2020 webinar, participants learned about the history and goals of the Early Head Start program and what research and evaluation can tell us about this comprehensive program’s impact and key ingredients to its success. They also heard about state-level efforts to expand Early Head Start and the power and potential of Early Head Start-Family Child Care Partnerships.

Joan Lombardi, a longtime champion for Early Head Start and the director of Early Opportunities, provided a historical background on the program and how it emerged as education leaders saw the need to reach children during the early years. She also shared the good news that recent congressional action will provide an additional $100 million in funding to support Early Head Start and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships.

Helen Raikes, the Willa Cather Professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a researcher who has been involved in the evaluation of the Early Head Start program since its launch, shared her research findings and the benefits the program has had on both children and parents. She stressed the importance of continuity of care and quality programming, pointing to stronger outcomes for children who experienced both Early Head Start programming and formal care from age 3 to 5. Raikes also shared how Nebraska has launched a public-private collaborative called Sixpence to serve the highest-need children in the state with two programs reflecting Early Head Start.

A longtime leader of the Albina Head Start program in Portland, Oregon, and the former board chair of the National Head Start Association, Ronnie Herndon shared the impact that he has seen from the program on children, families and his local community. He stressed the importance of the Early Head Start staff and the bonds of trust and respect they are able establish with families. More than 70 percent of the staff at Albina Head Start are either current or former Head Start parents. Herndon also shared his frustration with the fact that such a small fraction of those who need and could benefit from Early Head Start have access to the program, likening it to a choice to invest in crutches and lung machines instead or providing access to the polio vaccine. Oregon, like Nebraska, has made the choice to invest state dollars to help reduce this significant gap in access. The state’s Student Success Act will invest billions in education in Oregon, allowing the Early Head Start program to serve more than 900 additional children.

Jessica Sager, the co-founder and CEO of All Our Kin, described how her organization supports family child care providers, viewing these neighborhood-based education programs as the “unsung heroes of the child care system.” In addition to providing licensing support, strength-based coaching and business training to family child care providers to help them sustain and strengthen their businesses, Sager explained how All Our Kin began an Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership effort with family child care providers in New Haven, Connecticut, in 2010. Like Herndon, she stressed the benefits of the strong and trusting relationships between families and the staff in the Early Head Start family child care programs. Recognizing the lack of funding to serve all eligible families, Sager also shared what she sees as the key ingredients to success in the Early Head Start program and how they can be integrated into other early learning programs serving children in low-income families.