Early Head Start

Services for Children Prenatal to Three Years Old

Early Head Start (EHS) is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with infants and toddlers and pregnant women. Its mission is simple: to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, enhance the development of very young children, and promote healthy family functioning.

EHS evolved out of Head Start's long history of providing services to infants and toddlers through Parent Child Centers, Comprehensive Child Development Centers (CCDPs) and Migrant Head Start programs. Early Head Start services include comprehensive case management and follow-up, developmentally appropriate early childhood education for infants and toddlers, parent education, parent/child activities, health and dental care, nutrition, mental health, parent involvement and transitions.

Two Program Options

EOCF has two program options under EHS: home-based and center based. Both options in Early Head Start provide comprehensive services including:

  • nutrition assessments
  • developmental screening and assessments
  • social and emotional screening and observations
  • parenting support and education
  • support to families in completing well-child exams and dental screenings
  • support to families with children who have special needs

In addition, each family works with the EHS staff to develop a plan that is driven by the parents' identification of family strengths, needs, resources, and goals. Each Family Partnership Agreement is unique. EHS staff members play an important role in helping expectant parents determine how their goals will be defined in measurable terms, timelines for achieving those goals, the process for how the goal will be achieved, and how it will be determined that a goal has been met. The Family Partnership Agreement helps to determine what services families need and how they are delivered during the prenatal period.

Center-Based Model

This model supports families where the adult is working and/or attending school. Families must have a Washington State childcare subsidy. EOCF provides full day childcare for children ages 4 weeks to three years old at any of the four Early Childhood Care Centers. EHS classrooms operate 11 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year. Teacher to child ratio maintains at a 1:4. EHS Child Family Advocates individualize family services for each family during 90-minute child development focused home visits six times a year.

Home-Based Model

This model offers home based support to pregnant women and/or children birth-36 months. EHS Child Family Educator’s design individualized programs with families using the “Parents As Teachers” curriculum and the “Portage Developmental Assessment Tool.” Families participate in 90-minute child development focused home visits. In addition, families have the opportunity to participate in two of four monthly playgroups.

Services for Pregnant Women

By providing comprehensive Early Head Start (EHS) services beginning in the prenatal period, EHS programs have the opportunity to impact on low-income children at risk for health and developmental problems.

These services include comprehensive prenatal and postpartum health care, prenatal education, and breastfeeding education. Prenatal education efforts include information about:

  • typical fetal development
    • including the risks of smoking and drinking alcohol
  • what to expect during labor and delivery
  • nutrition education
  • postpartum recovery
    • including maternal depression

Every pregnant woman enrolled in EHS develops a Family Partnership Agreement, which outlines and individualizes the program her family will receive during the prenatal period. The Family Partnership Agreement for pregnant families, helps to determine what services families need and how they are delivered during the prenatal period. Collaboration with community partners is essential to EHS programs when serving pregnant women.

Some examples of potential community partners include:

  • health clinics
  • transportation services
  • counseling and other mental health programs
  • doula services
  • translation services for non-English-speaking families