Early Head Start

Topic Overview

Since the program was first authorized in 1994, Early Head Start research has examined the program’s implementation, its impacts on children and families, and a variety of special topics such as infant and toddler mental health, fatherhood and child welfare. With a particular focus on partnerships between the research community and local programs and the Office of Head Start, the results of this body of research help to identify and build on program strengths, continuously refine and improve practices, and promote healthy growth and development of low-income children.

Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS), 2010-2014

The purpose of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is to explore the application of behavioral economics principles to the programs and target populations of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF)...
Development of a Measure of Family-Provider Relationship Quality (FPRQ), 2010-2014

The goal of the FPRQ project is to develop a new measure to assess the quality of the relationship between families and providers of early care and education for children birth to 5 years of age...
Development of a Measure of the Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions for Infants and Toddlers (Q-CCIIT), 2010-2013

The goal of this project is to develop a new measure that will assess the quality of child care settings, specifically the quality of caregiver-child interactions for infants and toddlers in non-parental care. The new measure will be sensitive to...
Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES), 2007-2012

The Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES) continues a series of ongoing descriptive studies aimed at maintaining an up-to-date, extensive knowledge base to support Early Head Start policies and programs...
Early Head Start Research to Practice, 2003-Current

This web page pulls together research briefs from across Early Head Start research projects. Information includes findings on the implementation of programs, program impacts on children and families, and other information on special topics...
Early Head Start University Partnership Grants: Buffering Children from Toxic Stress, 2011-2016

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) awarded six cooperative agreements in September 2011 for "Early Head Start University Partnership Grants: Buffering Children from Toxic...

Early Head Start Program Performance Measures, 2001-2003

As a national laboratory for early childhood education, Head Start has long emphasized continuous program improvement and has been a leader in developing outcome-oriented accountability. Head Start began developing program performance measures in 1995,...
Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSRE), 1996-2010

The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project, a rigorous, large-scale, random-assignment evaluation of Early Head Start, was designed to carry out the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers...
Early Promotion and Intervention Research Consortium (E-PIRC), 2002-2006

The Head Start Bureau and the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation announced the award of five cooperative agreements in September 2002 as part of the Early Promotion and Intervention Research Consortium (E-PIRC). These four-year grants funded...
Infant Mental Health, 2000-2001

On October 23 and 24, 2000, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) convened the Infant Mental Health Forum in Washington, DC. ACYF undertook the planning of the Infant Mental Health Forum in response to questions from program staff...
Survey of Early Head Start Programs, 2003-2008

Ever since the inception of Early Head Start, research has been an integral part of the program. At the same time the first Early Head Start programs began operating, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) initiated an evaluation...