Head Start (United States)
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| Head Start (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Head Start |
| Formation | 1965 |
| Founder | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Type | Federal program |
| Purpose | Early childhood education, health, nutrition, parental involvement |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | United States |
| Parent organization | Administration for Children and Families |
Head Start (United States) is a federally funded national program initiated in 1965 to promote school readiness for young children through comprehensive services. Launched as part of Great Society initiatives under Lyndon B. Johnson, the program integrates early childhood education, health, nutrition, and family engagement across local and national delivery systems. Over decades Head Start has intersected with federal agencies, state governments, advocacy groups, and academic researchers to shape policy debates involving Office of Economic Opportunity, Administration for Children and Families, and Department of Health and Human Services.
History
Head Start began as part of the anti-poverty initiatives of the Great Society alongside programs such as Job Corps and Community Action Program. The inaugural 1965 pilot was administered by the Office of Economic Opportunity and influenced by research at institutions like Harvard University and University of Chicago; prominent advocates included Sargent Shriver and leaders in civil rights such as Dorothy Height. In the 1970s and 1980s Head Start expanded under administrations including Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, and saw statutory codification in amendments affecting the Economic Opportunity Act. The 1994 reauthorization under Bill Clinton emphasized school readiness, accountability, and collaboration with Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs, while the 2007 and 2010 reauthorizations under George W. Bush and Barack Obama introduced quality standards linked to research from National Academy of Sciences panels and evaluations by Administration for Children and Families contractors.
Program structure and services
Head Start offers a constellation of services delivered by local grantees, including child development, health screenings, dental care, nutrition, and parent engagement, interfacing with institutions such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WIC program, and local public health departments. Service models include center-based, home-based, and migrant or seasonal options coordinated with entities like Migrant Head Start providers and tribal colleges for American Indian and Alaska Native children; these models align with early learning frameworks promoted by National Association for the Education of Young Children and federal standards promulgated by Office of Head Start. Curriculum approaches in grantee programs draw on research from HighScope Educational Research Foundation, assessments like Ages and Stages Questionnaire, and professional development resources associated with Head Start Performance Standards.
Eligibility and enrollment
Eligibility prioritizes children from low-income families, children in foster care, children experiencing homelessness associated with protections under laws analogous to McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and children from families receiving benefits like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Enrollment processes are administered by local grantees in coordination with state Child Care and Development Fund offices and local school district partners, with priority rules sometimes involving ties to eligibility lists maintained by agencies such as Social Security Administration for disability determinations. Tribal Head Start programs follow eligibility rules negotiated with Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service partners to address American Indian and Alaska Native community needs.
Funding and administration
Funding originates from congressional appropriations to Department of Health and Human Services, administered through the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Head Start, with additional streams from state prekindergarten initiatives such as those in New York (state), California, and Florida. Local grantees include nonprofit organizations, school districts like Chicago Public Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District, community action agencies such as Community Action Partnership, and tribal organizations receiving funds via grant competitions and formula grants under statutes passed by the United States Congress. Oversight and monitoring involve audits by Government Accountability Office, evaluations by Mathematica Policy Research and other contractors, and quality-improvement funds administered with technical assistance from entities like National Head Start Association.
Outcomes and evaluations
Evaluations of Head Start have involved longitudinal studies conducted by researchers affiliated with Princeton University, Yale University, and University of Michigan and large-scale federal evaluations by ACF contractors; notable studies include findings from the Head Start Impact Study. Research has documented short-term gains in cognitive, language, and health indicators comparable to findings from Perry Preschool Project and Abecedarian Project literature, with mixed evidence on long-term academic outcomes drawing comparisons to longitudinal investigations at Chicago Longitudinal Study. Meta-analyses by scholars at National Bureau of Economic Research and policy reviews by Brookings Institution and Urban Institute highlight improvements in health access, vaccination rates, and parental employment, while reporting fade-out of some test-score effects in elementary grades.
Criticisms and controversies
Critiques have focused on variability in program quality across grantees, debates over cost-effectiveness akin to controversies surrounding Perry Preschool Project scaling, disputes over accountability tied to No Child Left Behind Act and Every Student Succeeds Act intersections, and concerns about monitoring raised in reports by Government Accountability Office. Controversies have included litigation over services to migrant families in cases litigated through federal courts, policy debates about privatization and use of vouchers championed by policy actors associated with Heritage Foundation and opposed by advocates like National Education Association, and discussions of cultural responsiveness affecting American Indian and Alaska Native program delivery debated with Tribal Council stakeholders.