Making a Difference in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers and Their Families: The Impacts of Early Head Start. Volume 2: Final Technical Report Appendixes

摘要

Early Head Start grantees are charged with tailoring their program services to meet the needs of low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers in their communities and may select among program options specified in the performance standards (home-based, center-based, combination, and locally designed options). Grantees are required to provide child development services, build family and community partnerships, and support staff to provide high-quality services for children and families. Early Head Start programs may select from a variety of approaches to enhance child development directly and to support child development through parenting and/or family development services. For purposes of the research, the 17 research programs were characterized according to the options they offer families as (1) center-based, providing all services to families through center-based child care and education, parent education, and a minimum of two home visits per year to each family; (2) home-based, providing all services to families through weekly home visits and at least two group socializations per month for each family; or (3) mixed approach, a diverse group of programs providing center-based services to some families, home-based services to other families, or a mixture of centerbased and home-based services.