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The effectiveness of early head start for 3-year-old children and their parents: lessons for policy and programs

John M Love1, Ellen Eliason Kisker, Christine Ross

  • 1Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Princeton, NJ 08543, USA. jlove@mathematica-mpr.com

Developmental Psychology
|December 15, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Early Head Start (EHS) improves child development and reduces aggression. EHS programs offering mixed home-visiting and center-based services showed the strongest positive impacts on families and children.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Public Health Interventions

Background:

  • Early Head Start (EHS) is a federal program established in 1995.
  • It serves low-income pregnant women, infants, and toddlers.
  • Program evaluation is crucial for understanding its effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of Early Head Start on child development and parent-child interactions.
  • To identify program characteristics associated with stronger impacts.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized trial involving 3,001 families across 17 EHS programs.
  • Data collection included caregiver interviews, child assessments, and parent-child interaction observations at age 3.
  • Regression-adjusted impact analyses were used.

Main Results:

  • Children in EHS showed better cognitive and language development.
  • EHS children exhibited higher emotional engagement and sustained attention, with lower aggressive behavior.
  • Parents in EHS programs were more supportive, provided more stimulation, read more, and used less physical discipline.

Conclusions:

  • Early Head Start demonstrates significant positive impacts on child development and behavior.
  • Parental engagement and stimulation are key outcomes.
  • Programs combining home-visiting and center-based services, with early full implementation of standards, yielded the most substantial benefits.

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