Since its inception in 1965, Head Start has provided low-income families with wraparound early childhood programming. Serving nearly a million children and families nationwide, Head Start's "Whole Child" philosophy was particularly evident during COVID-19 when families faced unprecedented disruptions at home, school, and work. Utilizing…

Center-based early care and education (ECE) is important for promoting positive early development and supporting families by providing child care so parents can work. However, the center-based supply varies substantially in terms of funding sources, indicators of quality, and services offered; and many families experience a lack of equitable…

This National Head Start Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for preschool-age children served by Head Start programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of Head Start. Data categories include: (1) Funded Enrollment; (2) Funded Enrollment by…

This National Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for children from birth to age five and pregnant women served by Head Start, Early Head Start, and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of Head Start.…

Early care and education (ECE) programs can provide a lifetime of benefits to children and families, but a lack of public support leaves these valuable services vulnerable to collapse during economic downturns. The COVID-19 pandemic was a particularly intense emergency for ECE providers: closures due to illness or shelter-in-place ordinances…

Early care and education (ECE) programs provide nurturing environments for young children--and the learning environments of children simultaneously serve as the work environments of early educators. In San Mateo County, there are approximately 465 family child care (FCC) providers operating in their own homes and approximately 280 child care…

Early care and education (ECE) programs provide nurturing environments for young children--and the learning environments of children simultaneously serve as the working environments of early educators. In Sonoma County, approximately 140 child care centers serve children from birth through age five, along with more than 330 family child care…

The landscape of early childhood programs has evolved as a largely fractured landscape: most public early education programs such as Head Start and state pre-K have been limited to low-income children or children with identified risk factors, and most private programs charge tuition that is too low to support a well-compensated workforce but still…

Quality in early childhood education (ECE) is central to equitable child development and preparation for formal schooling and has been widely studied by researchers and of interest to policy makers. As the federal pre-k program, Head Start is a key ECE context to understand quality and its implications for equity. One central measure of classroom…