Exploring Head Start Program Learning Options: A Comprehensive Guide

Head Start is a national program administered by the Office of Head Start within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Head Start currently receives more than $6.8 billion in funds and serves more than 906,000 low-income children and families nationwide. This article delves into the various learning options offered by Head Start programs, eligibility requirements, program settings, and the overall impact of these initiatives.

What is Head Start?

Head Start is a federal program aimed at increasing school readiness for children from lower-income families and backgrounds. From birth to five years of age, children who meet the head start requirements of eligibility can take these courses that focus on enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development to better prepare them to enter schooling in a full-time capacity and average school setting. Overall learning, nutrition, and family and social well-being skills will be taught to help foster a spirit of learning and discovery within children who, on their own, may not have been formed. A big part of head start is engaging the parents or guardians of each child to promote support and education from the parents to the child directly. This includes promoting healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, aiding in the development and progression of young children, promoting healthy family structures and relationships, and fostering and emphasizing the importance of education within each unique family dynamic. The program is child-centered, family-focused, comprehensive, and community-based.

Head Start Programs in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, Head Start programs operate with state and federal support, offering various options to cater to different age groups and needs.

Early Head Start (EHS)

Early Head Start programs provide family-centered services for low-income families with very young children. Early Head Start programs provide similar services as preschool Head Start programs, but they are tailored for the unique needs of infants and toddlers. Early Head Start programs promote the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers through safe and developmentally enriching caregiving.

In Lycoming and Clinton Counties, Early Head Start provides early, continuous and comprehensive year-round child development and family support services to pregnant women, infants and toddlers, including those with disabilities. STEP Head Start accepts applications year-round and fills vacancies from its waiting list as they occur.

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Program Models:

Center-Based: There are two center-based classes of eight children each in Lycoming County. The Clinton County Community Center in Lock Haven has two center-based classes of eight children each. Each class of eight infants and toddlers is supervised by two (2) teachers, assuring individualized care and comprehensive early learning experiences.
Home-Based: Early Head Start home visitors make weekly 90 minute visits to the homes of 10 - 12 infants, toddlers and their families supporting early learning and the parents’ role as the child’s first teacher. Children and families living in the Williamsport or Lock Haven area are enrolled in the Home-Based program model. Monthly playgroups are special opportunities for home-based children and families to socialize and learn together.

Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP)

Pennsylvania’s Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP) provides state funding to Head Start programs that serve three- and four-year olds living in families at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level. The program is offered to eligible families at no-cost. The programs provide comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services aligned to the federal program requirements.

Pennsylvania Head Start Collaboration Office (PA HSCO)

The Pennsylvania Head Start Collaboration Office (PA HSCO) facilitates collaboration among Head Start agencies and entities that carry out activities designed to benefit low income children from birth to school entry and their families. PA HSCO is funded federally by the Office of Head Start in a grant to the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and is located at the Pennsylvania Key.

Pennsylvania Head Start Association (PHSA)

The Pennsylvania Head Start Association (PHSA) functions as an advocacy organization for Head Start programs, families, staff, and administrators in Pennsylvania.

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Eligibility and Enrollment

Head Start programs serve families with children from birth to age 5, as well as pregnant women and expectant families. Head start requirements usually require the child to be 0-5 years old from a family with low income. Children in foster care, homeless children, and children from families receiving public assistance also meet the head start requirements for eligibility. AIAN Head Start programs enroll tribal children from reservations or nearby areas. All programs enroll children with disabilities and welcome children who speak a language other than English at home.

Generally, there are more eligible children than what program funding supports, resulting in waiting lists for when a spot becomes available. Federal poverty guidelines are used to determine whether or not each specific participant meets the financial head start requirements for eligibility.

Program Settings

Head Start services are delivered in a variety of settings, sometimes referred to as options.

Center-based services are located in child development centers. This consistent, supportive setting is designed to foster strong relationships between program staff, families, and children.
Home-based services are mostly delivered in a family's own home, along with planned group socialization activities.

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Combination services are often delivered through some combination of the above settings, depending on the needs of the community.

National Head Start Programs

Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS)

Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs serve children ages birth to 5 from families engaged in agricultural work, either seasonally or across geographic regions.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start programs serve children from federally recognized tribes and others in their communities.

The Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF)

The Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five (ELOF) presents five broad areas of early learning, referred to as central domains. The framework is designed to show the continuum of learning for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. It is grounded in comprehensive research around what young children should know and be able to do during their early years.

The five central domains are:

Approaches to Learning
Social and Emotional Development
Language and Literacy
Cognition
Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development

The Head Start Program Performance Standards require grantees to implement program and teaching practices that are aligned with the ELOF. Education managers can use the ELOF Implementation Toolkit to guide the alignment process and help their programs strengthen practices to promote children’s development in all ELOF domains. Teaching staff and home visitors can find resources to help them implement effective teaching practices in support of children’s development across the ELOF domains. The ELOF Effective Practice Guides provide information about domain-specific teaching practices that support children’s progression within the ELOF developmental domains.

Professional Development for Head Start Staff

One of the most important determinants of program excellence is the presence of well-trained, qualified staff. The Head Start training and development section 45 CFR 1304.52 (l) requires grantees and delegate agencies to provide orientation for new staff, volunteers and consultants, establishes a structured approach to child care center staff training and development that is designed to foster relationships and build knowledge and skills, and to include ongoing opportunities for staff to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to implement the content of the Head Start Program Performance Standards. 9843a] Sec. 648A.5 of the Head Start Act specifies that each Head Start teacher shall attend not less than 15 clock hours of professional development per year. Such professional development shall, among other things, be high-quality, sustained, intensive, and have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction and the teacher’s performance in the classroom, and should be regularly evaluated by the program for effectiveness.

CCEI offers head start training and online head start education programs for those hoping to be a part of the head start education system and meet the staffing head start requirements. It is the goal and responsibility of CCEI to prepare each participant to become a qualified, highly-skilled staff member.

CCEI offers online distancelearning that can help meet theseHead Start requirements:

Pre-service and In-service online training for new and experienced staff
Over 200+ child care training courses in English & Spanish
Training topics pertinent to the industry in healthy and safety, nutrition and food service, child development, classroom management, guidance and discipline, inclusion, and many more
Administration and management professional development courses
General orientation and infant-toddler orientation programs
Certificate programs that can help meet the coursework requirements of the CDA, FCCPC, and more
IACET CEUs awarded for completed coursework
Coursework that articulates to college credit with several of CCEI’s college partners
Customized content hosting and learning management

CCEI offers a variety of online certificate programsto help Head Start staff meet this standard.

Benefits offered by CCEI to Head Start staff:

In-Kind Credit offered on most programs
Customer Support Help Desk to deliver assistance
Faculty Support
Student access to completion certificates

CCEI Training Options:

Individual or Block Hours: Students may purchase one hour of child care online coursework or multiple hours at a time.
- 1-10 Hours: $15 per hour
- 11-49 Hours: $14 per hour
- 50 Hour Block: $650
- 125 Hour Block: $1,500
- 225 Hour Block: $2,475
Individual Annual Subscription: For $99, a child care professional can purchase an Individual Annual Professional Development Subscription. The subscription allows unlimited access to CCEI’s professional development course catalog for the year of the subscription.
Child Care Center-Based Subscription: The Child Care Center-Based Annual Subscription is the most manageable, accessible and cost-effective method for a center to provide its staff with training to meet annual licensing professional development needs. CCEI offers two child care center-based subscriptions:
- $499/year 20-user
- $999/year 50-user

With the 50-user option, staff can receive access to annual training for just $20 per person.

How to Find and Choose a Head Start Program

To find a Head Start or Early Head Start program, visit the online Head Start program locator.

Outcomes and Impact

Since 1965, Head Start programs have reached more than 38 million children and their families. Children enrolled in Head Start programs are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college; have improved social, emotional, and behavioral development; and are better prepared to be parents themselves than similar children who do not attend the program. Children enrolled in Early Head Start programs have significantly fewer child welfare encounters related to sexual or physical abuse between the ages of 5 and 9 than those who don't attend.

Research consistently shows a broad array of benefits for children at the end of their Head Start enrollment. While these benefits may appear to diminish in the early grades, economic benefits emerge as children become adults.

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