The National American Indian Alaska Native Head Start Collaboration Office (NAIANHSCO), created under Public Law 110-134 ("Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007"), is directed "to facilitate collaboration among Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start agencies) and entities that carry out activities designed…

Because the earliest years of life are a period of incredible growth, they present an opportunity to shape strong and positive development. Good health, secure and stable families, and positive early learning environments are necessary to foster children's physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development during this significant period. Yet…

Minnesota provides supplemental state funding to existing federal Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) grantees to increase their capacity to serve additional infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. The initiative was started in 1997 when the state legislature earmarked $1 million of the general state Head Start supplemental funds for children…

Missouri's Early Head Start/Child Care Partnership Project expands access to Early Head Start (EHS) services for children birth to age 3 by developing partnerships between federal Head Start, EHS contractors, and child care providers. Head Start and EHS contractors that participate in the initiative provide services through community child care…

Since 1999, Nebraska's Early Head Start Infant/Toddler Quality Initiative has supported Early Head Start (EHS) and community child care partnerships to improve the quality and professionalism of infant and toddler care. EHS programs apply to receive funding to establish partnerships with center-based or home-based child care.The initiative has…

The federal Early Head Start (EHS) program was created in 1994 to address the comprehensive needs of children under age 3 in low-income families and vulnerable low-income pregnant women. In addition to early learning opportunities, EHS's comprehensive early childhood development programs provide children and families with access to a range of…

Although Early Head Start (EHS) is a federal-to-local program, there are opportunities for collaboration at the state level that have expanded in recent years. State leaders can seize opportunities to break down silos and create collaborative state systems and programs to better meet the needs of vulnerable young children in their states. This…

State child care policies--including licensing, subsidy, and quality enhancement strategies--can promote the quality and continuity of early childhood experiences and foster the healthy growth and development of babies and toddlers in child care settings, especially if they are informed by research. One of the policy levers states may use to…

Babies need good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences to promote their healthy intellectual, social, and emotional development. However, as the poverty rate for children under age 3 continues to increase, a rising number of young children are going without these supports. The federal Early Head Start program (EHS) was…

This report provides a comprehensive listing of state and federal investments in Illinois' efforts to improve the quality of life for expecting parents and children under age three and their families. The inventory profiles a wide range of initiatives and is designed to serve as a resource for local program directors, community members,…

Fifty states and five territories were surveyed to determine implementation of the federal Program for Infants and Toddlers with Handicaps, established through Public Law 99-457. Questions focused on the states' interagency coordinating councils, definitions of developmental delay, and activities related to the required minimal components of…

In recent years, government has recognized that programs like Head Start are cost-effective investments that improve the school readiness of disadvantaged children. Over the last decade, states have been leaders in supporting services to infants and toddlers and their families. Examples of such initiatives include Hawaii's Healthy Start program,…

This study assesses progress made by the states, as of 1990, in the implementation of the 14 components of Part H of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments, 1986. Fifty out of 51 jurisdictions completed the State Progress Scale, which contains items for each of the 14 components and determines the stages of policy…

Drawing from a broad-based review of relevant research and literature, this report outlines selected national, state, and local policy developments in 1991-92 related to the collaboration among family, school, and community. Specifically, the report examines policies related to interventions for infants and toddlers; family support; coordination…

This issue of "The Future of Children" focuses on the daily care of infants and toddlers in the United States, highlighting information on caregiving arrangements, employer and government initiatives, promising strategies, and resources for use by journalists and policymakers. The guide begins with a summary of major findings related to…