This brief spotlights state coordination for early childhood education of young children experiencing homelessness. The content includes information about the rights and services afforded by the McKinney-Vento and Head Start Acts, spotlights early childhood education for students experiencing homelessness in North Carolina and Nevada, and…

The focus of this study was to examine the impact of professional development on the leadership practices of Head Start program directors in the Southwest United States. The research sought to understand how professional development influences the leadership practices of these directors and aimed to provide practical insights into leadership in…

This is the methodology appendix for the report, "The Conversion of Enrollment Slots from Head Start to Early Head Start (HS2EHS) Case Studies." It includes the following sections: (1) Sample; (2) Recruitment; (3) Data Collection; and (4) Analysis.

This dissertation aims to elucidate the complexities of chronic absenteeism in Head Start Programs post-COVID-19 to enhance early childhood education practices and policies. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study investigates the causes of absenteeism by surveying and interviewing 50 participants from a Head Start Program in the New York…

Background: Early care and education (ECE) has lasting, positive effects on children's school readiness (Phillips et al., 2018; Yoshikawa et al., 2013). Over the past several decades, access to city or state-funded prekindergarten (pre-K) has increased considerably (Friedman-Krauss et al., 2023) with well-documented, positive impacts on child…

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common childhood disorders requiring comprehensive and coordinated care over time. This study aimed to add knowledge about health, educational and social services received by children and families throughout early childhood, with special attention on coordination services provided. Methods: The…

This brief presents select findings from "The Conversion of Enrollment Slots from Head Start to Early Head Start (HS2EHS) Case Studies," six case studies of grant recipients that converted enrollment slots from Head Start to Early Head Start in 2021. This brief focuses on how grant recipients "assess the need for conversion."…

Many Head Start programs have closed classrooms due to staff shortages, with up to 30% of teacher positions unfilled. Reducing the elevated teacher turnover rate in Head Start centers is critical to maintaining program effectiveness and controlling costs; however, a limiting factor may be differences in administrators' and teachers' perceptions of…

Estimates show that one in six children aged three through 17 in the United States have one or more developmental disabilities. Many early childhood education programs aim to improve early identification of children with developmental disabilities and increase family engagement, specifically Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The present…

This study explores the effects of the two-generation program Career"Advance"--which combines education and training for parents in healthcare with Head Start for children--on children's academic, language, mathematics, and inhibitory control followed for 3 years. The sample (collected in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 2011 to 2018) includes 147…

Quality in early care and education (ECE) has been widely studied across several decades. There is not one standard definition of quality across ECE contexts. However, classroom quality often encompasses both structural features of quality, such as teacher-child ratios and teachers' qualifications, and process features of quality, such as…

When learning to implement a curriculum effectively, early care and education (ECE) teachers require ongoing feedback about their progress, along with multiple and frequent opportunities to practice. Curriculum-based coaching initiatives, in which coaches facilitate active reflection on a curriculum and mentor teachers on adapting and applying new…

States have increasingly sought to house pre-K and child care in the same agency--often including the Head Start collaboration office and other early childhood services. This article discusses three major approaches: (1) Creating a new agency focused on early childhood; (2) Consolidating functions in a human services agency; and (3) Consolidating…

The current study investigated the prevalence and outcomes related to Head Start (HS) children's dual enrollment in state-funded prekindergarten (state Pre-K) using a secondary analysis of a statewide integrated administrative dataset (N = 2,986). It also explored whether a program partnership between HS and the local school district (within the…

Annually, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) prepares the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and Head Start Saturation Study to analyze access to Washington's ECEAP and Head Start programs serving 3- and 4-yearolds. This study estimates the number of eligible children living within each school district…