Performance Improvement 2003. Early Head Start Research: Making a Difference in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers and Their Families

Early Head Start provides services to low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers with the goals of improving children’s development (cognitive, language, social-emotional, and health); fostering close supportive relationships between parents and their infants and toddlers; and encouraging the development of community partnerships. This report summarizes the interim results of an evaluation initiated in 1995 that includes about 3,000 children and families across 17 sites selected to represent a variety of environments (regional, rural, and urban), ethnic and racial compositions, and types of program approaches. At each site, children and families were randomly assigned to program and control groups; follow-up was carried out over three years of program participation, through a child’s third birthday. There was a consistent pattern of statistically significant (although modest) favorable impacts across a range of outcomes related to children and their families. The results found at the interim evaluation (conducted at age 2) were sustained through the child’s third birthday.

This evaluation carried out the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers to include an evaluation component within the Early Head Start program that would facilitate continuous improvement. The 17 programs selected for evaluation were geographically diverse, and represented all of the major programmatic approaches under the Early Head Start program.

Early Head Start was first funded in 1995, and the performance standards of Head Start were applied to this extension of these two-generation programs. The programs provide services to low-income pregnant women and families with infant and toddlers through a wide variety of program options. Individual sites have the latitude to create their own programs; however, these programs must meet the requirements to provide child development services directly and support child development through parenting and or family development services.

The level of implementation (i.e., early, late, or incomplete) was associated with stronger results. Although most Early Head Start families received some services, fewer than half were involved intensively for the full period of eligibility. Nevertheless, program families and children generally received substantially more services than those in the comparison group. With respect to outcomes, positive impacts of Early Head Start were observed on children’s cognitive development, language development, and several aspects of socio-emotional development.  In addition, the assessment of Early Head Start parents demonstrated some favorable impacts on parenting outcomes (e.g., reading daily to the child) and on some aspects of progress towards self-sufficiency (education, job training activities). Early Head Start mothers were less likely to have subsequent births within two years.

Results of the evaluation suggest that implementing key services fully is important for program success. Specific recommendations for center-based and home-based services were provided, and it was noted that flexibility in service options seems to have the greatest positive impact. Two ‘difficult-to-serve’ subgroups (parents at risk for depression and teenage parents) were reached by the program. The study validated the importance of meeting Head Start Program Performance Standards and supported the value of monitoring programs regularly.

http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/PDFs/ehsfinalvol1.pdf

AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families

FEDERAL CONTACT: Rachel Chazan Cohen, 202-205-8810 PIC ID: 3570

PERFORMER: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Princeton, NJ