Overview
The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project, a rigorous, large-scale, random-assignment evaluation of Early Head Start, was designed to carry out the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers for a strong research and evaluation component to support continuous improvement within the Early Head Start program and to meet the 1994 reauthorization requirement for a national evaluation of the new infant-toddler program.
The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project was funded in three waves. The Congressionally-mandated Birth to Three Phase (1996-2001) included an Implementation Study, an Impact Evaluation that investigated program impacts on children and families through their time in the program, and local research projects. In 2001, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funded the Pre-Kindergarten Follow-up Phase (2001-2004) to build upon the earlier research and follow the children and families who were in the original study from the time they left the Early Head Start program until they entered kindergarten. In 2005, ACF funded the Elementary School Follow-up Phase (2005-2010) to again build upon earlier research and follow the children and families from the original study while the children are in fifth grade, or attending their sixth year of formal schooling.
As the map below indicates, the programs that participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project are located in Russellville, Arkansas; Venice, California; Denver, Colorado (two programs); Marshalltown, Iowa; Kansas City, Kansas; Jackson, Michigan; New York City; Kansas City, Missouri; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Sumter, South Carolina; McKenzie, Tennessee; Logan, Utah; Alexandria, Virginia; Kent, Washington; Sunnyside, Washington; and Brattleboro, Vermont.
The project period is 1996 to Current and the point of contact is Rachel Chazan Cohen. Ask a Question.
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![[Figure 1.0 Programs that Participated in the Early Head Start Program]](images/programs_map.gif)
Evaluation Design and Components
The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project consisted of three phases: the Congressionally-mandated Birth to Three Phase, the Pre-Kindergarten Follow-up Phase, and the Elementary School Follow-up Phase. These phases are described below.
Birth to Three Phase (1996-2001)
In an effort to measure program effectiveness, processes, and efficacy of the program, the Congressionally-mandated Birth to Three Phase (1996-2001) included a cross-site national study that encompassed an Impact Evaluation and Implementation Study as well as site-specific research conducted by local research projects. The cross-site work was conducted through a contract to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and Columbia University’s Center for Children and Families, while the local work was funded through grants to each university based team.
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Impact Evaluation
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Implementation Study
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Local Research Projects
A rigorous evaluation was designed to examine the impacts of Early Head Start on key child and family outcomes. The evaluation was conducted in 17 sites where Early Head Start research programs were located. The sites were selected purposively based on the following criteria: (1) in aggregate, programs had to provide a national geographic distribution that represented the major programmatic approaches and settings and reflected diverse family characteristics thought to be typical of Early Head Start families nationally; (2) programs had to have a viable research partner; and (3) programs had to be able to recruit twice as many families as they could serve. The evaluation randomly assigned 3,001 families to participate in either Early Head Start or to be in a control group. Comparison group families were not eligible for Early Head Start services but were free to avail themselves of other services in the community.
Comprehensive data from multiple sources were used to examine the effects of participation in Early Head Start. Direct child assessments, observations of the parent-child relationships, and the home environment as well as interviews with parents about child and family functioning were conducted when children were 14, 24, and 36 months of age. Information on family service use was collected at 6, 15, 26 months after enrollment and at the time of exit from the program.
As part of the national evaluation, a comprehensive implementation study was conducted. The study was designed to provide critical information on the early development of these very first Early Head Start programs; program implementation and context during the evaluation period; identify and explore variations across programs; illuminate pathways to service quality; examine service needs and use by low-income families with infants and toddlers; and investigate program contributions to community change.
The implementation study measured the extent to which programs implemented the Head Start Program Performance Standards by 1997 and 1999. Data for the implementation study came from many sources, including three rounds of site visits to the research programs, program documents, self-administered staff surveys, Head Start Family Information System (HSFIS) application and enrollment forms, and other documents and databases. The first round of site visits was conducted in summer and early fall 1996, about a year after programs were funded. The second round of site visits was conducted in fall 1997, approximately one year after they began serving families. The third round of site visits was conducted in late summer 1999.
The information from these various sources was synthesized using established qualitative analysis methods and systematic procedures established in advance. Using a consensus-based approach, a panel of site visitors, national evaluation representatives, and outside experts assessed 24 key elements of the program guidelines and the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards, including the degree of implementation both overall and separately for the children and family development areas, as well as staff development, community partnerships, and some aspects of program management.
The local research projects, conducted by university-based researchers partnered with Early Head Start programs, were designed to address specific outcomes and program functions that reflected the uniqueness of each Early Head Start program. The major focus for these local studies was the identification of what mediates and moderates positive child and family development within the context of the specific Early Head Start programs and local communities. These local research studies identified site-specific outcomes and examined intra-site differential impacts and their reasons for them. Local researchers also assisted in the collection of cross-site data collection for the national evaluation. For a description of each research initiative, see Research Partners.
Pre-Kindergarten Follow-up Phase (2001-2005)
In order to address important policy questions related to childhood experiences after Early Head Start, ACF funded the Pre-Kindergarten Follow-up Phase and awarded cooperative agreements to the same local universities funded during the Birth to Three Phase. These universities conducted cross-site and site-specific research, building upon earlier research and following the original children and families from the time they left the Early Head Start program until they entered kindergarten. For a description of these longitudinal research initiatives, see Research Partners. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. served as the Data Coordination and Analysis Center for this phase of the study.
Elementary School Follow-up (2005-2010)
In the Elementary School Follow-Up phase, children and families will be assessed when the children will be fifth graders or attending their sixth year of formal schooling. Approximately 1,900 children, their parents, and teachers in 17 sites across the U.S. are expected to participate. The study includes direct assessments of children's cognitive, socioemotional, and physical development; parent interviews; teacher questionnaires; and videotaping of maternal-child interactions. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. along with the National Center for Children and Families at Columbia University, Educational Testing Service, and the Early Head Start Research Consortium will design and carry out the study. Xtria will provide support for consortium activities.
Evaluation Team
Birth to Three Phase (1996-2001)
Following a competitive procurement process, ACF contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) of Princeton, New Jersey, and its subcontractor, the Center for Children and Families at Columbia University, Teachers College. Dr. John M. Love and Dr. Ellen Eliason Kisker of MPR and Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn of Columbia University led the national evaluation team.
ACF also funded 15 local research teams to work with the Early Head Start research programs to conduct their own research on issues central to the local programs and to participate in many national evaluation activities (including providing field support for the national data collection).
The Early Head Start Research Consortium—composed of federal staff, national evaluation contractor staff, 15 local research teams, and directors of the 17 Early Head Start programs—was created to facilitate collaboration on issues related to policy, assessment, and the use of research and evaluation data.
Pre-Kindergarten Follow-up Phase (2001-2005)
In order to answer policy relevant questions related to child experiences after Early Head Start, ACF funded a Pre-Kindergarten follow-up of the children in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation sample. In this phase of the study, 15 local research teams were funded to develop cross-site measures and collect data, while MPR was funded in the role of a Data Coordinating and Analysis Center in order to facilitate training, certification, and data consolidation.
Elementary School Follow-up (2005-2010)
ACF has funded a fifth grade (G5) follow-up study of the children in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Sample. MPR, along with the National Center for Children and Families at Columbia University and Educational Testing Service, will direct the fifth grade round of data collection scheduled to begin in the spring of 2007. The 15 local research teams will advise MPR on the study design, planning and assist with oversight of the data collection. Xtria will continue to provide support to the EHS Consortium and workgroup activities as they have in previous phases of the study.
On the Early Head Start program, contact:
Amanda Bryans
Administration for Children and Families, DHHS
Office of Head Start
1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Floor
Washington DC 20024
Phone: (202) 205-9380
Email: Amanda.Bryans@acf.hhs.gov
On the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project, contact:
Rachel Chazan Cohen
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
Administration for Children and Families, DHHS
370 L'Enfant Promenade SW, 7th Floor W
Washington, DC 20447
Phone: (202) 205-8810
Email: rccohen@acf.hhs.gov
Early Head Start Research Consortium
The Early Head Start Research Consortium consists of representatives from 17 programs participating in the evaluation, 15 local research teams, the evaluation contractors, and ACF. Research institutions in the Consortium and their principal researchers include the following:
- ACF (Birth to Three: R. Chazan Cohen, J. Jerald, E. Kresh, H. Raikes L. Tarullo; TPK: R. Chazan Cohen, J. Jerald, E. Kresh, H. Raikes; G5: R. Chazan Cohen, H. Raikes, A. Bryans);
- Catholic University of America (M. Farber, L. Milgram Mayer, H. Liebow, C. Sabatino, N. Taylor, E. Timberlake, and S. Wall);
- Columbia University (L. Berlin, C. Brady-Smith, J. Brooks-Gunn, and A. Sidle Fuligni);
- Harvard University (C. Ayoub, B. Alexander Pan, and C. Snow);
- Iowa State University (D. Draper, G. Luze, S. McBride, C. Peterson);
- Mathematica Policy Research (K. Boller, E. Eliason Kisker, J. Love, D. Paulsell, C. Ross, P. Schochet, C. Vogel, and W. van Kammen [TPK, L. Tarullo]);
- Medical University of South Carolina (R. Faldowski, G. Hong, and S. Pickrel);
- Michigan State University (H. Fitzgerald, T. Reischl, and R. Schiffman);
- New York University (M. Spellmann and C. Tamis LeMonda);
- University of Arkansas (R. Bradley, M. Swanson, and L. Whiteside-Mansell);
- University of California, Los Angeles (C. Howes and C. Hamilton);
- University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (R. Emde, J. Korfmacher, J. Robinson, P. Spicer, and N. Watt);
- University of Kansas (J. Atwater, J. Carta; and J. Summers);
- University of Missouri-Columbia (M. Fine, J. Ispa, and K. Thornburg);
- University of Pittsburgh (C. McAllister, B. Green, and R. McCall);
- University of Washington School of Education (E. Armijo and J. Stowitschek);
- University of Washington School of Nursing (K. Barnard and S. Spieker),
- Utah State University (L. Boyce and L. Roggman)