BUILDING BRIDGES WITH YOUR STATE’S HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START
Head Start and Early Head Start (HS and EHS)
Head Start (HS) is a federal program that promotes the school readiness of children ages
birth to five from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional
development. Early Head Start (EHS) is a federally funded community-based program for
low-income families with infants and toddlers and pregnant women.
Head Start programs provide comprehensive services to enrolled preschool-age children
and their families. In addition to enhancing cognitive, social and emotional development
programs provide health, nutrition, social and other services determined to be necessary
through family needs assessments. Many Head Start programs also provide Early Head
Start to infants, toddlers, pregnant women and their families who have incomes below the
federal poverty level. Over a million children are served by Head Start programs every
year. This includes children in every U.S. state and territory and in American Indian and
Alaska Native communities.
Head Start programs offer a variety of service models, depending on the needs of the local
community. Programs may be based in:
 Centers or schools that children attend on a part-day or full-day basis;
 Family child care homes; and/or
 Children's own homes, where a staff person visits once a week to provide services to
the child and family. Children and families who receive home-based services gather
periodically with other enrolled families for a group learning experience facilitated by
Head Start staff.
Head Start’s learning environment supports children's growth in the following domains:
 Language and literacy;
 Cognition and general knowledge;
 Physical development and health;
 Social and emotional development; and
 Approaches to learning.
EHS evolved out of Head Start's long history of providing services to infants and toddlers
through Parent and Child Centers, Comprehensive Child Development Programs (CCDPs),
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs, and other early child development and family
support efforts serving families with very young children. The EHS mission is:
 To promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women,
 To enhance the development of very young children, and
 To promote healthy family functioning.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDER: The link below provides information on how to contact your state’s
Head Start collaboration director:
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/states/collaboration/HSSCO/state_collaboration.html
BUILDING BRIDGES WITH YOUR STATE’S HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START
POTENTIAL IDEAS FOR STATE LEADERSHIP TEAMS:
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Develop linkages between pediatricians and local HS/EHS programs
Develop presentations to promote EBCD in HS/EHS
Work with HS/EHS to enhance early screening of young children and ways to increase
linkages and communication with medical home
Work with your Head Start collaboration director to embed EBCD messages statewide
Share EBCD information with HS/EHS home visitors and ways they can use this
knowledge in their work
TOOLS:
1. Sample letter to your Head Start/Early Head Start collaboration director
2. Foundational PowerPoint
Sample letter to your Head Start/Early Head Start collaboration director
Email Subject Heading: An Opportunity to Collaborate with Your AAP Chapter
Dear [insert name],
It is a pleasure to reach out to you as the Building Bridges State Early Brain and Child
Development (EBCD) Team Leaders (consisting of a member of our American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) Chapter and Early Childhood Systems Representative). As you may know, the
AAP has made EBCD a strategic priority. This is an incredible opportunity to ensure that children
are supported early with nurturing environments and relationships that promote health and
success.
We are interested in exploring how we can work together to incorporate EBCD efforts into the
work of our state’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs. In this regard, we would like to
plan a meeting or a call to identify collaborative efforts and opportunities.
Below are the days and times we are available during the next 2 weeks for your consideration.
[insert dates and times]
If you have any questions, please let us know. We are looking forward to speaking with you and
exploring ways that we can work together.
Sincerely,
Names
Contact Information