Head Start University Partnerships for Measurement Development, 2004-2008

Project Overview

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) awarded eight grants in September 2004 under the Head Start-University Partnerships: Measurement Development for Head Start Children and Families priority area. Grantees included University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Erikson Institute; Harvard University; Michigan State University; Pennsylvania State University; Utah State University; University of Kansas; and the University of Washington. These grants projects developed measures to directly assess children and parent-child relationships for low-income children from birth through age five, including culturally and linguistically diverse children and families.

The assessments developed focused on:

  • Toddler and Infant
    • Communication
    • Parent-Child Interaction
    • Parent Child Mealtime Behaviors
    • English Vocabulary Development of Bilingual Spanish Speaking Toddlers
    • Attachment
  • Assessment of Family Safety and Needs
  • School-Readiness of Diverse Low Income Preschoolers: Progress Monitoring Instrument