At a Glance

Funder:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families

Project Time Frame:

1995-2002

Early Head Start Research and Evaluation

The final report to Congress presents complete findings from our seven-year national evaluation of Early Head Start. The findings showed that the program promotes learning and the parenting that supports it within the first three years of life. Participating children performed significantly better in cognitive, language, and social-emotional development than their peers who did not participate. The program also had important impacts on many aspects of parenting and the home environment, and supported parents’ progress toward economic self-sufficiency. Programs that more fully implemented the Head Start Performance Standards achieved larger impacts across a wide range of outcomes.

The Early Head Start program extends the Head Start concept to low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers. Our staff worked with a consortium of local researchers and program directors to conduct a comprehensive implementation study and a random assignment impact study in 17 sites.

Read more about the Early Head Start program.
Birthday-related assessments
14 months (PDF format)
24 months (PDF format)
36 months (PDF format)
Parent-services interviews (PDF format)

Data

Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project data are available for secondary analysis at the Early Care and Education Research Connections website.

Early Childhood Topics

At a Glance

Funder:

Project Time Frame:

Project Publications

Early Head Start Research and Evaluation

Final Program Impact Report:

Interim Impact Report:

Implementation Study Reports:

Early Head Start Father Studies:

Related Links

Data