About the Office of Head Start

Mission

Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.

Program Description

The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families, with a special focus on helping preschoolers develop the early reading and math skills they need to be successful in school. In FY 1995, the Early Head Start program was established to serve children from birth to three years of age in recognition of the mounting evidence that the earliest years matter a great deal to children's growth and development.

Head Start programs promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families. They engage parents in their children's learning and help them in making progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals. Significant emphasis is placed on the involvement of parents in the administration of local Head Start programs.

Head Start Program Fact Sheets

Fiscal Year 2008

Fiscal Year 2007

Fiscal Year 2006

Fiscal Year 2005

Fiscal Year 2004

Advisory Committee on Head Start Research & Evaluation

The Advisory Committee on Head Start Research and Evaluation was established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review, and make recommendations on, the design and plan for the research that provides a national analysis of the impact of Head Start programs.

Following a series of meetings in 1999, a report to the Secretary was prepared to fulfill the first part of the Committee’s charge. This report summarized the deliberations of the Committee and set forth a framework for evaluating the impact of Head Start. In October 2000, the National Head Start Impact Study was funded to determine the impact of Head Start on the children and families it serves.

Current members of the Advisory Committee, charged with advising the Secretary regarding the progress of the research that is underway, and comment, if desired, on the interim and final reports, include individuals with expertise in program evaluation and research, education, and early childhood programs.

• Introduction
  • Legislative Authority for the Advisory Committee
  • Charter of the Advisory Committee
  • Membership of the Advisory Committee
  • Schedule of Meetings of the Advisory Committee
• Charters
• 2005 Charters
• 2003 Charters
• 2001 Charters
• 1999 Charters
• Statue
• Members
• 2005 Members
• 2003 Members
• 1999-2001 Members
• Meetings
• September 28-29, 2005
• June 16-17, 2003
• January 12, 2001
• July 26-27, 1999
• June 2-3, 1999
• April 26-27, 1999
• October 1999 Report: Evaluating Head Start: A Recommended Framework for Studying the Impact of the Head Start Program

• Research and Statistics
  • Ongoing Research
  • Publications and Reports
  • Bibliographies & Research Resources
  • Research Conferences and Events
  • Head Start Statistical Fact Sheets

Reports

2005 Biennial Report to Congress [PDF 1.63MB]

2003 Biennial Report to Congress [PDF 9.61MB]