Physical Health
Children must be healthy to learn. Head Start and Early Head Start programs work with families and children to understand how to achieve and maintain optimum physical health. This includes:
- Linking families with a medical home
- Ensuring all enrollees receive developmental, sensory, and behavioral screening
- Ensuring all enrollees receive well-child physical examinations based on their state's Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) schedule
If concerns are found, families are supported in obtaining further evaluations, treatment, and any follow-up recommended by the medical professional. Daily health checks by classroom staff and ongoing conversations with parents help programs to individualize health-related services and education for each child.
To learn more about requirements in Head Start and related evidence-based recommendations for out-of-home care settings, review Compliance with Care: A Crosswalk Between the Head Start Program Performance Standards and Caring for Our Children, 3rd Edition.
Featured Resources
Explore the following resources related to physical health:
- Virtual Early Education Center
- The Medical Home and Head Start Working Together
- Well-Visit Planner
- Determining Child Health Status
- Health Tips for Home Visitors – Preventing the Spread of Illness
- Vision Screening: A Fact Sheet for Early Care and Education Programs
- Screening: The First Step in Getting to Know a Child
Contact Us
If you would like help finding resources, please contact us at health at ecetta dot info.
Ongoing Source of Continuous, Accessible Care or Medical Home
A key requirement of Head Start health services is determining whether a child has an ongoing source of continuous, accessible care, also known as a medical home. Programs are responsible for linking families to a medical home.
Office of Head Start (OHS) Resources
- Health Services Newsletter: Helping Families Access Medical Care (November 2013)
- Health Services Newsletter: How Do Health Services Support School Readiness?
- Health Services Newsletter: Strong Connections, Strong Families – Increasing Collaboration Between Head Start and the Medical Home (November 2014)
- The Medical Home and Head Start Working Together
- The Well-Visit Planner for Families
- What Is Well-Child Health Care and Why Is It Important?
- Contact your Head Start State and National Collaboration Office for state information and resources on access to comprehensive health services
OHS Learning Activities, Podcasts, and Webinars
- Ask the Expert Series: Head Start and the Medical Home (Podcast)
- The Importance of Well-Child Health Care and Medical Home (Learning Activity)
- Strong Connections, Strong Families Webinar
- Head Start and Child Care Programs: An Important Part of Community Readiness and Response to Seasonal Influenza Webinar
Additional Resources
Screening, Assessment, Treatment, and Follow-Up
Programs must obtain from a health care professional a determination that each child is up-to-date on a schedule of age-appropriate preventive and primary health care, including medical, dental, and mental health. The schedule must incorporate the requirements of well-child care within EPSDT and the latest immunizations schedule recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state, tribal, and local authorities. See the screening, assessment, treatment, and follow-up resources below to help you with these tasks.
OHS Resources
- 2016 Immunization Schedules for Children and Adults
- Health Manager’s Orientation Guide (See chapters three and four for information on screening, assessment, treatment, and follow-up.)
- Technical Assistance Paper No. 4: Developmental Screening, Assessment and Evaluation: Key Elements for Individualizing Curricula in Early Head Start Programs
- Beyond Vision Screening: Building a Comprehensive Vision Program
- Developmental Screening – Child Development
- Early Childhood Hearing Screening and Follow-Up: Screening in Health Care Settings
- Early Head Start Tip Sheet 6: What is Screening? Revised
- May Is Better Hearing and Speech Month: Promoting Early Developmental and Hearing Screening for Young Children
- Oral Health Assessment, Follow-Up, and Treatment
- Screening Dual Language Learners in Early Head Start and Head Start: A Guide for Program Leaders
- Screening: The First Step in Getting to Know a Child
- Sensory Screening Protocol
- Speech and Language Screening: Well-Child Health Care Fact Sheet
- Understanding and Choosing Assessments and Developmental Screeners for Children Ages 3-5: Profiles of Selected Measures
- Vision Screening: A Fact Sheet for Early Care and Education Programs [PDF, 458KB]. Available in Spanish (español)
- Vision Screening: Well-Child Health Care Fact Sheet
- Introducing the Well Visit Planner: A Tool for Family Engagement in Head Start and Early Head Start Centers
- When Health Affects Assessment
OHS Learning Activities, Podcasts, Newsletters and Webinars
- Don't Just Wait and See: Strategies to Improve Developmental Screening in Early Childhood (webinar)
- Implementing an Evidence-Based Vision Screening Program- Tools and Tips for All Ages! (webinar)
- Health Issues in Head Start: Screening (webinar)
- Health Services Newsletter: Screening in Head Start (October 2013)
- Ongoing Assessment: Overview (webinar)
- Taking Inventory of Screenings and Exams: A Learning Activity
- What, Why, and How of Screenings and Exams? A Learning Activity
Additional Resources
- Office of Early Childhood Development: Developmental and Behavioral Screening
- American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: Screening and Assessment
- American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry: State Dental Periodicity Schedules
- CDC Screening and Diagnosis for Healthcare Providers
- Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) Initiative
- National Center for Medical Home Implementation
- The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center: Developmental Screening and Assessment Instruments with an Emphasis on Social and Emotional Development for Young Children Ages Birth through Five [PDF, KB]
- Prevent Blindness America
Preventing and Managing Communicable Conditions
The spread of communicable conditions is common in child care settings. Illnesses spread because children have close contact with peers and caregivers. They naturally explore their environment by touching and putting things in their mouths. The spread of communicable conditions has a big impact on the health and well-being of children, families, and staff. The demands of supervising children—wiping noses, diapering, preparing meals or snacks, and tending to injuries—make practicing good hygiene all the time challenging. Explore the topics listed below to learn more about each condition, as well as how to identify and manage it. Find useful information for early childhood programs and for families.
Tip Sheets
Additional Resources
- Dealing with Head Lice in Group Settings published in Child Care Exchange, May 2016 Edition [PDF, 187KB] (Article)
- Health Services Newsletter: Bed Bugs – Managing the Itch Factor (April 2015)
- Health Services Newsletter: Managing Head Lice (July 2015).Available in Spanish (español)
- Health Services Newsletter: Preventing and Managing Influenza (December 2014)
Individual Wellness Plans
An important requirement of Head Start and Early Head Start health services is planning to meet the needs of the individual child. Programs aim to individualize services for all children and families from comprehensive screening and ongoing observation to education strategies. The resources below provide health managers, disability coordinators, program staff, and community health providers with a variety of strategies to support individualization in health services.
OHS Resources
- Early Head Start Tip Sheet No. 37: How Do You Know If Infants or Toddlers With Challenging Behavior Need an Individualized Support Plan? What is the Process of Developing a Plan? What If It Doesn’t Work?
- Health Manager’s Orientation Guide (See chapters three and four.)
- Health Services Newsletter: Asthma (June 2015). Available in Spanish (español)
- Health Services Newsletter: Food Allergies in Head Start (April 2014)
- Healthy Children Are Ready to Learn
- 'Individualized Planning for Health' [Background Information] in Essential Principles for Care
- Secondhand Smoke: How to Prevent Asthma Triggers in Children
- The Well-Visit Planner for Families
OHS Learning Activities, Podcasts, Newsletters, and Webinars
- Assessing the Child Who Is Ill: A Learning Activity
- Children with Special Health Care Needs Webinar
- Embracing Our Future Webinar
- Head Start and Child Care Programs: An Important Part of Community Readiness and Response to Seasonal Influenza Webinar
- Health Services Newsletter: Asthma (June 2015). Available in Spanish (español)
- Health Services Newsletter: Get a Head Start on Enrollment (September 2013)
- Health Services Newsletter: How Do Health Services Support School Readiness (September 2014)
- Making it on Our Own – Customizing an Individualized Health Plan: A Learning Activity
- Pathways to Care: A Learning Activity
- Whom Do I Tell? A Learning Activity
Additional Resources
- Allergies and Asthma (healthychildren.org)
- Appendix O: Care Plan for Children with Special Health Needs (cfoc.nrc.kids.org) [PDF, 615KB]
- Caring for Our Children, 3rd Edition. Chapter 3: Health Promotion and Protection
- Influenza Prevention and Control: Strategies for Early Education and Child Care Providers (online course) (Healthy Child Care America)
- Is It A Cold or the Flu? (National Institute of Health) [PDF, 104KB]
- Preventing and Managing Infectious Diseases in Early Education and Child Care (online course) (Healthy Child Care America)
- Stopping the Spread of Germs and Work & School (CDC)
Family Education Activities and Resources
Discover educational materials and activities designed to help staff support families as they strive to ensure their child's health and well-being.
OHS Resources
- Care for Their Air: For Families
- Care for Their Air: Promoting Smoke-Free Homes and Cars for Head Start Families
- Health Literacy & Family Engagement
- Health Tips for Families Series
- Measles
- Your Family's Health and Safety
- Safety Tips for Sleeping Babies
- The Well-Visit Planner for Families
OHS Learning Activities, Podcasts, Newsletters, and Webinars
- Embracing Our Future webinar
- Essential Principles for Care: Key Concepts, Background Information (learning activity)
- Health Services Newsletter: Asthma (June, 2015)
- Health Services Newsletter: Get a Head Start on Enrollment (September 2013)
- Health Services Newsletter: How Do Health Services Support School Readiness (September 2014)
- Healthy Smiles: Oral Health Webinar for Spanish-Speaking Parents
- Improving Head Start/Child Care and Community Readiness and Response to Seasonal Influenza webinar
- Know What to Do About the Flu: Parents and Child Care Providers (webcast)
- Know What to Do About the Flu: Pregnant Women and New Moms (webcast)
- Making it on Our Own - Customizing an Individualized Health Plan: A Learning Activity
- Pathways to Care: A Learning Activity
- Smoking Podcasts
- The Well-Child Health Care Fact Game: A Learning Activity
- Whom Do I Tell? A Learning Activity
Additional Resources
Policies and Procedures
Programs are required to develop, implement, evaluate, and revise policies and procedures. The following resources, in addition to many of the links above, are designed to assist in these efforts.
OHS Resources
- Compliance with Care
- Daily Health Check
- Head Start Emergency Preparedness Manual: 2015 Edition
- Health Manager’s Orientation Guide
- Health FAQs
- Policy and Regulation
- Tip for Health Managers Series
- Tracking Vaccinations
- Weaving Connections
OHS Learning Activities, Podcasts, Newsletters, and Webinars
- Assessing the Child Who Is Ill: A Learning Activity
- Health Services Newsletter: A 21st Century Vision for Your Health Services Advisory Committee (June 2014)
- Health Services Newsletter: Get A Head Start on Enrollment (September 2013)
- Keeping Up – Tracking Health Services: A Learning Activity
- Making it on Our Own- Customizing an Individualized Health Plan: A Learning Activity
- Whom Do I Tell? A Learning Activity
Last Reviewed: October 2016
Last Updated: December 15, 2016