FSU Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The mission of Florida State University Early Head Start Program is to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, enhance the development of very young children, and promote healthy family functioning.

Importance of the Early Years

Early Head Start was created by the 1994 U.S. Congress as part of the reauthorization of the Head Start Act. Early Head Start incorporates current research and best practice in providing services to low-income young children and their families. Major factors contributing to poor outcomes in the development of low-income children include lack of adequate prenatal care, inadequate child health care, substandard child care, and parent isolation. The 2000 report From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development, released by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, states that relationships formed in the earliest years are the "basic structure within which all meaningful development unfolds."

Program Services

Early Head Start is an intensive, comprehensive, flexible program designed to reinforce and respond to the unique strengths and needs of each individual child and family. Services include:

quality early education and care in and out of the home;
parenting education;
family support services;
comprehensive health services, including nutrition, dental, and mental health services;
education and support services for expectant families before, during, and after pregnancy.

Program Design and Options

Florida State University Early Head Start offers low-income children and families in Gadsden County, Florida comprehensive child development services through two service options - center-based and home-based. Children and families enrolled in the center-based option receive comprehensive child development services in a group child care setting, supplemented with home visits by the child's teacher and other staff. In the home-based option, expectant women and children receive weekly home visits and Group Socialization experiences twice monthly. The community and family assessments conducted by the program help determine which service options best meet the needs of families in the program. Often one service option does not meet the developmental needs of a child over a 3-year period, or support the family's changing circumstances. Therefore, FSU Early Head Start offers more than one service option so that children can receive appropriate services as family needs change.

Quality Standards

The federal Head Start Performance Standards specify quality guidelines for the provision of Early Head Start services to children pre-birth to age 3. Major elements of the standards include: early childhood development and health services; family and community partnerships; staffing; and program design and management. Programs are required to involve parents and community representatives in all areas of the program, including policy, program design, curriculum, and management decisions.

Eligibility

Early Head Start is a child development program primarily for low-income families who meet the Federal poverty guidelines. At least 10 percent of the total number of children enrolled must be children with disabilities. Other family circumstances are also considered in determining eligibility. Once enrolled, children are eligible until 3 years of age, or when they transition into an appropriate preschool setting.

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